Police in Lyon, France, are investigating a stabbing incident involving a 30-year-old Jewish lady and the engraving of a Swastika on her front door as possible acts of antisemitism. The assault, which took place on a Saturday afternoon at the victim’s home, left her with two stab wounds to the abdomen.
Investigators from the Lyon public prosecutor’s office are looking into “a probable hate crime motive” in the attempted murder.
Lyon’s mayor, Grégory Doucet, expressed his outrage at the “unspeakable outburst of violence” and offered his condolences to the victim and her family. However, another police source who spoke with Le Figaro said, “It is rare for a knife attack to result in only superficial injuries,” and that her neighborhood is not known for having a sizable Jewish population.
Minister of the Interior Gérald Darmanin revealed earlier this week that 819 antisemitic crimes had been reported in France since the October 7 Hamas terror strikes against Israel, so the attack does occur amid heightened antisemitic incidents across France.
The European Jewish Congress condemned the attack as “deeply troubling,” saying, “Jews have the right to exist without being attacked.” We pray that she will recover quickly, and we urge the authorities to find and punish her attacker.
The local chapter of the Council of French Jewish Institutions (CRIF) issued a strong statement of condemnation after the stabbing, saying it “prompted profound alarm in the Jewish community.” CRIF president Richard Zalmati echoed these calls for “caution,” saying the judiciary should decide whether or not anti-Semitism played a role in motivating the attack.
As Israel wages a ferocious war against the Hamas terror group, the incident occurred amid a global uptick in antisemitism. With the cover of thousands of rockets fired at Israeli cities and its citizens, last month, 3,000 of its militants crossed the border into Israel from the Gaza Strip, murdering over 1,400 people and taking at least 245 hostages. Almost all of the people killed when gunmen stormed border settlements were innocent bystanders. Terrorists carried out heinous acts of violence, including the execution of entire families in their homes and the massacre of nearly 260 people at an outdoor celebration.
Israel’s military assault to free the captives and topple Hamas from power in Gaza was a direct response to this. In addition to a conventional operation, the IDF has launched heavy airstrikes against Gaza, claiming to be striking terror targets while attempting to limit collateral damage.
