Ynet News reports that French police are investigating the anti-Semitic attack of a 65-year-old man over the weekend in a northeast suburb of Paris. Dubi Sitruck was violently assaulted when two men punched him and stole his Star of David necklace. Sitruck was also wearing a kippah.
According to the complaint, Sitruck was walking alone on Saturday morning while wearing a kippah when a dark gray, older-model Audi A3 with three people inside pulled up beside him. Two men — one from the front passenger seat and one from the back — got out and asked for directions to the nearby town of Bondy. Moments later, one man stood in front of Sitruck and punched him on the left side of his face while the other tore from his neck a gold chain with a Star of David pendant.
Sitruck suffered bruising, swelling, and bleeding around his left eye, police said. Emergency crews took him to a hospital, where a doctor confirmed injuries to the eye and cheek area. He was later referred to the forensic medicine unit for additional evaluation of both physical and psychological harm.
The complaint states the attack was clearly motivated by anti-Semitism, citing Sitruck’s kippah and the theft of an item bearing a Jewish symbol.
While there has been an increase in anti-Semitic acts in Europe, no country saw as large an increase as France. Since October 7, 2023, anti-Semitism in France has quadrupled. 2024 saw 1,676 anti-Semitic acts while 2023 saw 436, according to the Council of Jewish Institutions in France.
For many Jews in Europe and the former Soviet Union, living in the Holy Land free from prejudice is a dream – even described as a “fairy tale” by some. For decades, The Fellowship has been making those dreams of a better life a reality by offering aliyah for new olim, immigrants, to Israel. After the most recent attacks by Iran ceased, The Fellowship welcomed over 100 olim to Israel from Europe. Many of the new immigrants were from France, facing similar hate that Sitruck experienced. These pathways to Israel are often lifelines for people whose homelands have turned their backs on them.
