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Philippe Braham, Yoann Cohen, Yoav Hattab and Francois-Michel Saada. Four people murdered for no reason other than going about their daily business as Jews.
That such a sentence is still possible in 2015, seventy years after the Shoah, chills the blood. Because if antisemitism is the oldest hatred, it is also a distinctly modern hatred. In France, forty per cent of all violent racist attacks were targeted at Jews in 2013. That would be a shocking statistic whatever the absolute number, but it is all the more shocking given that Jews comprise less than one per cent of the French population.
Antisemitism has been a cancer in French society for decades — centuries — but that long-standing contempt for Jews has now fused with a more visceral and violent Muslim Jew-hatred. Last week’s murders bleakly demonstrate the sophistry and lie that any of this — this disease which has taken root in so many minds — is about Israel. It is not. It is about Jews. Ordinary Jews such Philippe Braham, Yoann Cohen, Yoav Hattab and Francois-Michel Saada, who were murdered simply for doing their kosher shopping.
What of our own situation? Statistically, we are far safer here than in France. The level of antisemitic incidents recorded by CST does not compare with the situation across the Channel. But that is little comfort.
The fact is that trained jihadis with the same mindset and murderous intent as Amedy Coulibaly wander our country’s streets; the security services are clear that it is a matter of when, not if, they strike.
After last week’s events our community has been — to put it mildly — unsettled. No wonder 32 per cent of us feel “much more concerned” about our safety now. That said, over three quarters nonetheless say we feel “very” or “quite” safe.
In France, the government — which has been admirably clear about the nature of the attack — has responded with thousands of troops to protect vulnerable groups and sites. But a seige is no answer. Troops in kosher shops, Jewish schools and shuls will not protect the entire community, and we cannot and should not have to live like that. The only long-term response is to strangle the jihadi networks at root. That is a project that will take many years — and depends on Western governments and society first grasping the issues, then understanding what to do and, finally, showing the will power to act. It also, of course, depends on Muslim communities acting to stamp out the extremism in their midst. That is a pre-requisite.
Millions may have marched in France to defend freedom. But so far none of these criteria have been met. Until we grasp the true nature of the threat we face, we have no chance of repelling it.
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