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Four arrested after French Jewish teenager attacked leaving shul

Meyer Habib, a member of the French National Assembly, has called for action on antisemitism in the suburbs

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French police have arrested four teenagers after a Jewish 14-year-old boy was attacked as he left a synagogue on Wednesday.

The suspects, aged between 14 and 15, allegedly surrounded the victim before attacking him as he left the shul in Montmagny, approximately eight miles north of Paris.

His glasses were broken, and the alleged attackers also stole his kippah while shouting antisemitic remarks, including “dirty Jew”, the Jersualem Post reports.

Following the attack, Rene Taieb, president of the Jewish communities of the Val-d’Oise region, met with Frederic Potier, who oversees the French government’s Inter-ministerial Delegation for the Fight Against Racism, Antisemitism and LGBT Hate.

The two met to discuss a new government plan to combat such incidents. The plan will be unveiled during the government’s new National Education Week Against Racism and Antisemitism in March.

Mr Potier later told the Representative Council of Jewish Institutions in France (CRIF) that combating antisemitism is “a fight that must be carried out relentlessly”.

Meyer Habib, a member of the French National Assembly, called on authorities to take action on antisemitism in the suburbs, adding that he expected President Emmanuel Macron to address the issue in his upcoming speech at the CRIF annual conference.

He said: “Unfortunately, recently we have witnessed many cases of antisemitic attacks in France.

“The president and the prime minister responded to the recent cases with strong words, but after words, actions are needed, and that – we, unfortunately, have not seen yet.

“Hatred of Israel is the main engine of antisemitism today in France.”

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