AJC Condemns New Attack on French Jews

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Jun 04, 2012, 09:31 ET

NEW YORK, June 4, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- AJC condemned a weekend attack on Jews in France, and urged French authorities to bring to justice those responsible for the barbaric assault.

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"French Jewry is on high alert after the savage March attack on a Jewish school in Toulouse," said AJC Executive Director David Harris. "The latest assault only raises the anxiety levels and is another reminder of the need for security and vigilance."

On Saturday night, according to the French Interior Ministry, ten people using hammers and iron bars brutally attacked three Jews in Villeurbaine, near the city of Lyon. Two of the victims, one with a head injury, were treated in hospitals.

The Interior Ministry said the attack was anti-Semitic, and called for the assailants to be brought to justice. "These acts are extremely serious and a deliberate attack against our republican model that should enable everyone, without distinction, to live freely and safely in their religious affiliation," said Interior Minister Manuel Valls.

In March, a lone gunman murdered in cold blood three schoolchildren and one teacher at the Toulouse school. The attacker later died in a firefight with French police.

SOURCE American Jewish Committee