An elderly Jewish woman has been hospitalised with cranial damage after being struck on the head by a metal ball thrown at her outside a Paris synagogue.
The 79-year-old was hit by the object as she left the shul in the French capital’s 11th district.
Witnesses were unable to identify where the ball was thrown from or who was responsible.
The previous day, water had been thrown at people leaving the same synagogue.
Crif, the umbrella body for French Jewish organisations, said it “strongly condemned this violent attack” and added it would follow the investigation into the antisemitic incident “with seriousness and concern.”
#Antisemitisme - Une dame de 79 ans a reçu une boule de pétanque sur la tête, ce mardi soir, à la sortie d'une synagogue du 11ème arrondissement de Paris.
— CRIF (@Le_CRIF) June 19, 2019
Le Crif condamne fermement cette agression violente et suit avec sérieux et inquiétude le déroulement de l'enquête. pic.twitter.com/VHpLbqE7a3
The France Bleu news channel described the injured woman’s condition as stable.
The metal ball was identified as one used in the game of petanque, the French equivalent to the English game of bowls. The steel balls tend to weigh between 650 and 800 grams.
The World Jewish Congress (WJC) described the attack as “part of a larger story of vandalism, verbal and physical attacks on Jews in Europe. With antisemitism reaching an all-time high, these acts are unacceptable.
“We must treat these attacks with complete seriousness and make clear that it is intolerable. We hope that all efforts are geared towards finding the attacker of this crime and the proper measures are taken once found.”
