The National Office of Vigilance against Anti-Semitism (BNVCA) in France issued a public condemnation on Monday of an attack that occurred this Shabbat, in which a 13-year-old Jewish boy was assaulted by three anti-Semites as they shouted “dirty Jew.”
“The National Bureau of Vigilance Against Anti-Semitism denounces and condemns the anti-Semitic aggression in Paris (on) March 5, 2016 against a young 13-year-old boy, just because he was wearing a kippah,” wrote the BNVCA in a French-language announcement.
The boy was on his way to join his father at prayers in a synagogue on Voynet Street in Paris at around 6 p.m., when suddenly he was attacked by three anti-Semites.
He described them as North African, likely indicating that they were Muslim immigrants. They identified him as a Jew by his kippah, and began punching him in the side while shouting “dirty Jew.”
As one of the assailants snatched his kippah, another grabbed him by the hair and slammed his head against a pole. The attackers only fled the scene after passersby began to arrive.
The boy recalls calling for help as he was there on the street, wounded in public view, but no one responded to his calls. Stunned, he managed to reach the synagogue where his father was on his own power.
The 13-year-old suffered bruises to his face, and aided by his father, he went to the police station where he filed a complaint and provided a description of the attackers.
BNVCA on Monday called on the police to make every effort to track down the culprits.
It also reminded the Jewish public that they can be recognized in other ways aside from their kippot, and therefore said they should not be intimidated into stopping their Jewish observance and instead should continue wearing the kippah.
“The camp of hatred and anti-Jewish discrimination needs to be condemned and neutralized,” emphasized BNVCA, adding that it is following up on developments to the case and is aiding in the legal efforts for the youth.
