Dozens of Jewish tombs damaged
Pastor Dale Morgan
*Dozens of Jewish tombs damaged*
From correspondents in Paris
April 02, 2007 08:06am
Article from: Reuters
MORE than 50 Jewish tombs were damaged overnight in a cemetery in the
northern French city of Lille.
"Fifty-one tombstones were damaged, of which two were broken. The
vertical part was separated from the horizontal part or broken," a
spokeswoman for the local prefecture said, adding that none of the tombs
were broken into.
Police had opened an inquiry and called on any witnesses to the
incident, which occurred in the Jewish section of the Lille-South
cemetery, to come forward, she said.
French President Jacques Chirac condemned the attack.
"Following this unspeakable and intolerable act, which I condemn in the
most solemn manner, I want to express to you, as well as to the
families, my very deep sympathy and my full solidarity with the whole of
the Jewish community of Lille and of our country," Mr Chirac said.
France is home to western Europe's biggest Jewish and Muslim communities.
The number of anti-Semitic incidents in France jumped sharply in 2006, a
Jewish group said in February. A young Jewish man was kidnapped and
brutally murdered at the start of that year and the summer war in
Lebanon appeared to bring an increase in attacks.