“When a synagogue is attacked (…), it is the values of the Republic that are being attacked,” declared the national president of the Consistoire israélite de France, Elie Korchia.
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A thousand people, including many elected officials and representatives of several religions, gathered in Montpellier (Hérault) to denounce anti-Semitism and support the Jewish community on Tuesday evening, August 27. This gathering comes three days after the arson attack on the synagogue in La Grande-Motte (Hérault). “Your presence here is a snub to the advocates of hatred”said Perla Danan, president of the Representative Council of Jewish Institutions (CRIF) of Languedoc-Roussillon, to the crowd gathered at Place de la Comédie.
The synagogue of La Grande-Motte, a seaside resort about twenty kilometers from Montpellier, was the scene of an attack on Saturday that could have turned into a tragedy and whose perpetrator was arrested in Nîmes (Gard) after a brief escape. The suspect had been filmed by video surveillance cameras, a Palestinian flag on his belt, as he tried to set fire to the synagogue on Saturday, just before the morning Shabbat service. Only one municipal police officer was slightly injured.
“It is a miracle that we did not have to deplore any victims, due to this desire to kill which was that of the suspect”stressed in Montpellier the national president of the Israelite Consistory of France, Elie Korchia. “When a synagogue is attacked (…), it is the values of the Republic that are being attacked”he added. “We need this gathering to be not only a gesture of fraternity, but a moment of republican reaffirmation”explained the president of the national authorities of the CRIF, Yonathan Arfi.
“I call on the Republican forces to make our speeches unambiguous. To combat anti-Semitism, so that the nauseating amalgams with the Middle East conflict stop.”demanded the president of the Jewish community of La Grande-Motte, Sabine Atlan.
The president of the Occitanie region, the socialist Carole Delga, was booed and jeered by part of the audience when she mentioned the Auschwitz extermination camp, and “what the ignominy of fascist and Nazi regimes born of extreme right-wing ideas can produce”. “Those who choose to be booed for political purposes dishonor themselves”reacted the socialist mayor of Montpellier, Michaël Delafosse. “My fellow Jews of France, this is your country, and in this country, we will defend you.”