"Ilan Halimi was targeted because he was a Jew, and because his tormentors believed he had to be rich, and deserved what was coming to him," says Richard Prasquier, president of the Representative Council of France's Jewish Institutions. "This gang attempted kidnapping two people before Ilan Halimi – both Jews. They were not dissuaded upon realizing Ilan worked in a mobile phone store, didn't earn much, and came from a modest family that couldn't be rich. To them, he was a Jew, so he was victimized."
The "old plague", of course, is also boosted by a tendency to hold France's Jews responsible for Israel's actions: anti-Semitic attacks here tend to spike during outbreaks of violence between Israel and Palestinians. Prasquier noted the "disturbing surge of [anti-Semitic] acts in January, due to the war in Gaza".
Though the recent violence in Gaza did fuel a spate of anti-Jewish aggression in France over December and January, Prasquier is careful to note that "France wasn't unique in this way, because we saw the same kind of action against Jews elsewhere in Europe – notably in England and Belgium".
French Jews are not ready to claim anti-Semitism is no longer a problem, but Prasquier says most now do feel things are moving in the right direction.
"If there ever were any existential fear felt, it is gone today," he says. "There is concern at each new act of anti-Semitism, and keen attention paid to how French society reacts to them. Often, we feel reaction in the rest of France is largely in phase with ours."
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