French Jewish leaders expressed outrage that the upcoming visit of Syrian president Hafez Assad coincides with the anniversary of a World War II roundup of French Jews. On July 16-17, Assad, who is accused of sheltering alleged Nazi war criminal Alois Brenner, is scheduled to meet with French president Jacques Chirac, 56 years after Vichy police forced more than 10,000 French Jews into the Vel d’Hiv stadium before deporting them to Auschwitz. Brenner, the SS officer in charge of the deportation, was last seen in Syria in October 1992.
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