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| French Jews See Cemetery Vandalism as Latest Sign of Anti-Semitism | French Jews See Cemetery Vandalism as Latest Sign of Anti-Semitism |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| PARIS — Teenage vandals are suspected of overturning as many as 250 gravestones in a cemetery in a rural part of eastern France near the German border, where many Jews once lived but have long since left. | |
| The desecration, which was carried out Thursday but only discovered on Sunday, was perceived by the Jewish community in France as another reminder of the increasingly anti-Semitic mood in the country. | The desecration, which was carried out Thursday but only discovered on Sunday, was perceived by the Jewish community in France as another reminder of the increasingly anti-Semitic mood in the country. |
| However, according to the local prosecutor, Philippe Vannier, who announced Monday that the police had detained five youths, ages 15 to 17, after one of them confessed, it was not clear if the cemetery was targeted because it was Jewish, or rather because it was thought to be abandoned. | However, according to the local prosecutor, Philippe Vannier, who announced Monday that the police had detained five youths, ages 15 to 17, after one of them confessed, it was not clear if the cemetery was targeted because it was Jewish, or rather because it was thought to be abandoned. |
| Nonetheless, coming after deadly shootings in Copenhagen over the weekend in which one of the victims was a Jewish man guarding a synagogue, as well as the attacks in early January in Paris, including one at a kosher supermarket where four hostages were killed, the cemetery desecration added to a sense that European Jews, and more specifically French Jews, are under attack. | Nonetheless, coming after deadly shootings in Copenhagen over the weekend in which one of the victims was a Jewish man guarding a synagogue, as well as the attacks in early January in Paris, including one at a kosher supermarket where four hostages were killed, the cemetery desecration added to a sense that European Jews, and more specifically French Jews, are under attack. |
| French government leaders moved quickly to try to counteract that impression and reassure Jews here that they are integral to France’s identity. Their comments on Monday were both in response to the vandalism and to calls over the weekend by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel for European Jews to emigrate to Israel. | French government leaders moved quickly to try to counteract that impression and reassure Jews here that they are integral to France’s identity. Their comments on Monday were both in response to the vandalism and to calls over the weekend by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel for European Jews to emigrate to Israel. |
| “I will not allow the words said in Israel to leave the impression that Jews no longer have a place in Europe and in France in particular,” President François Hollande of France said. | “I will not allow the words said in Israel to leave the impression that Jews no longer have a place in Europe and in France in particular,” President François Hollande of France said. |
| Mr. Hollande is scheduled to visit the cemetery in the village of Sarre-Union in the Alsace region of France on Tuesday. | Mr. Hollande is scheduled to visit the cemetery in the village of Sarre-Union in the Alsace region of France on Tuesday. |
| The French prime minister, Manuel Valls, also made an impassioned plea for French Jews to stay. “A Jew who leaves France is a piece of France that is gone,” Mr. Valls told RTL radio. | The French prime minister, Manuel Valls, also made an impassioned plea for French Jews to stay. “A Jew who leaves France is a piece of France that is gone,” Mr. Valls told RTL radio. |
| Mr. Valls himself was accused on Monday of favoring Jews by a former French foreign minister, Roland Dumas, who served under President François Mitterrand. Mr. Dumas implied that Mr. Valls was under Jewish “influence” in part because his wife is Jewish. | Mr. Valls himself was accused on Monday of favoring Jews by a former French foreign minister, Roland Dumas, who served under President François Mitterrand. Mr. Dumas implied that Mr. Valls was under Jewish “influence” in part because his wife is Jewish. |
| For the Jewish community in France, while this was hardly the most worrisome of the attacks, it had a symbolic importance, especially after the January shootings in Paris. “Today they are attacking both the living and the dead because they are Jewish,” said René Gutman, the rabbi of Strasbourg and the surrounding Lower Rhine region. | For the Jewish community in France, while this was hardly the most worrisome of the attacks, it had a symbolic importance, especially after the January shootings in Paris. “Today they are attacking both the living and the dead because they are Jewish,” said René Gutman, the rabbi of Strasbourg and the surrounding Lower Rhine region. |
| Most attacks on Jewish cemeteries have been carried out by members of the far right in France, although there was no suggestion at this point of what had motivated the cemetery vandals. | Most attacks on Jewish cemeteries have been carried out by members of the far right in France, although there was no suggestion at this point of what had motivated the cemetery vandals. |
| The area once had a significant Jewish population, but many left in the 1870s when the area changed hands and became German territory. The cemetery dates to the 18th century, Mr. Gutman said. | The area once had a significant Jewish population, but many left in the 1870s when the area changed hands and became German territory. The cemetery dates to the 18th century, Mr. Gutman said. |
| Representatives of the Jewish community here saw the desecration as a symptom of a larger problem rather than a major incident. Roger Cukierman, head of the Representative Council of French Jewish Institutions, said they no longer counted the number of desecrations of cemeteries, focusing on more serious crimes. | Representatives of the Jewish community here saw the desecration as a symptom of a larger problem rather than a major incident. Roger Cukierman, head of the Representative Council of French Jewish Institutions, said they no longer counted the number of desecrations of cemeteries, focusing on more serious crimes. |
| “For me, it shows that France has missed something in its education of its young people, because they should have learned either from their parents or teachers to have respect for the deceased,” Mr. Cukierman said. | “For me, it shows that France has missed something in its education of its young people, because they should have learned either from their parents or teachers to have respect for the deceased,” Mr. Cukierman said. |
| Simone Rodan-Benzaquen, the director of the American Jewish Committee in Paris, noted that it was important not to lump all crimes against Jews together and that there was a difference between killing Jews and desecration, though both are part of a larger problem. | Simone Rodan-Benzaquen, the director of the American Jewish Committee in Paris, noted that it was important not to lump all crimes against Jews together and that there was a difference between killing Jews and desecration, though both are part of a larger problem. |
| “We’re witnessing a moment of growing tension and growing hate in Europe, and the anti-Semitism is an expression of something more that is going wrong,” she said. | “We’re witnessing a moment of growing tension and growing hate in Europe, and the anti-Semitism is an expression of something more that is going wrong,” she said. |