— The Jewish cemetery of Bagneux on the outskirts of Paris was desecrated last Friday night, on the eve of the French “Deportation Day” when ceremonies are held to commemorate those who died in Nazi concentration camps in World War II.
Eighty gravestones in the cemetery were daubed with swastikas and slogans, such as “Death to Israel,” “Death to the acid throwers,” and “Revenge for the attack.” The last two slogans referred to an attack on a neo-Nazi who lost his eyesight after alleged Jewish activists threw acid in his face. Most of the slogans on the gravestones were signed Federation of European Nationalist Action (FANE), the outlawed neo-Nazi organization, and bore the organization’s insignia.
The International League Against Anti-Semitism and Racism called on the country’s next Administration to take all possible steps to prevent similar attacks from taking place. France’s 36 million voters are going to the polls today to choose the two candidates who will run in the second, runoff elections, on May 10 during which France’s next President will be chosen.
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The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
