World Jewish News

Motorist in France suspected of assaulting Jewish man with knife

French police suspect a motorist of assaulting a Jewish man with a knife in front of his wife and baby, according to a local antisemitism watchdog.

The Jewish man, identified by the Bureau for Vigilance Against Antisemitism as B. Olivier, said the suspect assaulted him Thursday morning at 11 a.m. while he was trying to cross a road with his wife and baby in the southern city of Cannes, the watchdog, known as BNVCA, said in a report on the incident. Olivier reportedly said the man, who appeared to be of European heritage, failed to stop his car at the pedestrian crossing.

Passersby prevented the driver from continuing after he narrowly missed hitting Olivier and his family, the report said, and Olivier confronted the driver, who told him to “screw his mother.”

The driver then reportedly got out of the car with a knife and advanced toward Olivier, who was wearing a Star of David pendant, shouting that he would “kill the Jew.” Olivier and his family fled the scene, the report said.

BNVCA said police were able to identify a suspect, but did not mention whether he had been detained. The group urged the judiciary to charge the suspect with aggravated assault in an indictment that reflects the allegedly antisemitic character of the incident.

Most of the physical antisemitic attacks on Jews in France are committed by Arabs or Muslims, according to BNVCA. But the watchdog has warned that the proliferation of attacks by Islamists on Jews in France — hundreds are recorded annually — is prompting others, including other extremists, to be more prone to violence toward members of that minority.

JPost.com