(JTA) — A French Jewish man from suburban Paris area told police he was assaulted by younger Arabs outside his synagogue.
The complainant, identified as Salomon Z., 53, in a report about the incident by the National Bureau for Vigilance Against Anti-Semitism, or BNVCA, said he was assaulted on Saturday after attending Sabbath morning services at the synagogue in the Saint-Ouen municipality, the bureau reported.
A man with an Arab appearance, whom the victim estimated was 25 years old, followed him into an alley, yelled “dirty Jew” and hit him in the face, according to the BNVCA report. Two other men, whom the victim also described as Arabs, joined the alleged aggressor and also hit the Jewish man.
Salomon Z. said the attackers wrestled him to the ground and produced a knife, telling him they were going to stab him, but fled as onlookers began to approach.
The victim suffered minor injuries to the face. “Shocked and traumatized he returned to his home,” BNVCA wrote. Salomon Z. filed a complaint with police on Sunday.
“Even as synagogues, schools and other Jewish community institutions are watched over by police and troops, Jews remains vulnerable targets on the street or in their place of business,” BNVCA wrote in a statement about the incident.
Some 851 anti-Semitic acts were registered in 2014, compared with 423 the previous year, with acts of physical violence jumping to 241 from 105, according to the SPCJ security unit of French Jewish communities.
