Young Arabs and leftwing student supporters of El Fatah attacked the Rothschild Bank and the offices of the newspaper L’Aurore last night, smashing windows and daubing anti-Israel slogans on the walls. Over 100 demonstrators took part in the assaults, which were apparently well planned, and managed to evade police. One worker at the newspaper office was injured by flying glass.
The attackers attempted to set fire to the bank. Earlier in the day, El Fatah supporters tried to set fire to the private residence of Baron Elie De Rothschild, president of the French United Jewish Appeal. L’Aurore, a mass circulation morning newspaper, was a target apparently because of its editorial support of Israel. The bank walls were defaced with such slogans as “Fatah shall win” and Ben Gurion is a Fascist.”
The demonstrators carried Egyptian and El Fatah flags. They smashed windows with stones and used the flagpoles as battering rams to break into the offices of L’Aurore. Police said that the attackers assembled at a central point and then moved on the bank and newspaper office in small groups using side streets to avoid police. The attacks lasted several minutes and by the time police arrived the assailants had dispersed. They left an Egyptian and an El Fatah flag at the newspaper office.
JTA has documented Jewish history in real-time for over a century. Keep our journalism strong by joining us in supporting independent, award-winning reporting.
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.
