World
New tree planted to commemorate Jewish man tortured to death after previous memorial felled in ‘act of hatred’
Donations poured in to replace the olive tree to commemorate murdered Frenchman Ilan Halimi
September 4, 2025 12:16
Donations poured in to replace the olive tree to commemorate murdered Frenchman Ilan Halimi
September 4, 2025 12:16Authorities in France have planted a new olive tree in memory of a young Jewish man tortured to death 21 years ago after a previous tree was chopped down in what was described by Emmanuel Macron as an “act of hatred".
The new memorial commemorating Ilan Halimi was planted on Wednesday and will be the first of several to be unveiled in tribute to the murdered 23-year-old after Hervé Chevreau, the mayor of Épinay-sur-Seine, in northern Paris, announced “a remarkable outpouring of solidarity” reflected in the donations that poured in following the felling last month.
Halimi, a mobile phone salesman, was abducted, held captive and tortured in 2006 by a gang of around 20 people said to believe Jews were wealthy and that his family would be able to pay a ransom.
He was found naked and handcuffed in a Paris suburb on 13 February 2006 three weeks after he went missing. His head had been shaved and he was severely burned and had sustained stab wounds. He died on the way to hospital.
The gang’s leader, Youssouf Fofana, a self-declared antisemite, was convicted in 2009 of Halimi’s murder and handed a life sentence.
In 2011, an olive tree was planted in Halimi’s memory but last month the memorial was found felled, bringing to the fore the increase in antisemitism and hate crimes to which Jewish people in France have been subjected as international attention, and condemnation, over Israel’s conduct in Gaza has intensified.
France’s President Macron described the felling of the tree as "an attempt to kill [Halimi] a second time" and vowed: "All means are being deployed to punish this act of hatred."
Marking the planting of the new tree at a commemorative ceremony yesterday, Mayor Chevreau said: “In the context of rising antisemitic acts, the community aims to reaffirm its steadfast commitment against hatred, forgetfulness, and indifference.
“This gesture of reflection and resilience responds to the serious act of vandalism in Épinay-sur-Seine, where the commemorative tree was deliberately cut down.”
French authorities arrested Tunisian twin brothers late last month in connection with the felling, prosecutors confirmed. The brothers have been remanded in custody pending their trial, scheduled to begin on 22 October, where they will face charges of aggravated destruction of property and desecration of a monument dedicated to the memory of the dead on the basis of race, ethnicity, nationality, or religion.
France’s chief rabbi, Haim Korsia, attended the ceremony on Wednesday along with other prominent French figures including Aurore Bergé, France’s minister for gender equality and the fight against discrimination.
In 2018, the Ilan Halimi Award was established in support of projects for young people that combat antisemitism and other forms of racism
Announcing the launch of this year’s award at the tree-planting ceremony, Bergé said this edition was “more than an act of remembrance – it is a pledge to the future”.
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