A 13-year-old Jewish boy was allegedly attacked by five men, who beat him, threatened him with a knife and shouted antisemitic slurs as he made his way synagogue in Paris.
The Paris prosecutor’s office said the alleged incident occurred on Monday evening on Boulevard de la Chapelle in the city's 18th arrondissement, as the boy, who was holding his kippah in his hand, walked to shul.
The boy told investigators that when the men approached him they ordered him to hand over his coat and empty his pockets. The assailants, who also allegedly made off with his trainers and Air Pods, were said to have knocked him to the ground, punched him in the face and held a knife to his throat, French newspaper Le Parisien reported. They also reportedly called the boy a “dirty Jew”.
Police arrested an 18-year-old in connection with the attack, while the four remaining suspects have yet to be identified.
The prosecutor’s office has opened an investigation into armed robbery and armed violence, committed as a group and aggravated by discrimination.
Yonathan Arfi, president of the Representative Council of French Jewish Institutions, said in : "How do you find the words to explain to a 13-year-old child that he is being attacked because he is Jewish? Who will be able to restore his confidence in the future tomorrow?
"Hatred of Jews is never acceptable, but it is even less so when it targets children," he added.
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