A violent antisemitic attack took place over the weekend in Livry-Gargan, a suburb northeast of Paris, authorities said. The victim, Dubi Sitruck, 65, filed a formal complaint with French police following the incident.
According to the complaint, Sitruck was walking alone on Saturday morning while wearing a kippah when a dark gray, older-model Audi A3 with three people inside pulled up beside him. Two men — one from the front passenger seat and one from the back — got out and asked for directions to the nearby town of Bondy. Moments later, one man stood in front of Sitruck and punched him on the left side of his face while the other tore from his neck a gold chain with a Star of David pendant.
Sitruck suffered bruising, swelling and bleeding around his left eye, police said. Emergency crews took him to a hospital, where a doctor confirmed injuries to the eye and cheek area. He was later referred to the forensic medicine unit for additional evaluation of both physical and psychological harm.
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The complaint states the attack was clearly motivated by antisemitism, citing Sitruck’s kippah and the theft of an item bearing a Jewish symbol.
France has seen a sharp increase in antisemitic incidents since Oct. 7. Another attack occurred last Wednesday in Lyon, when two assailants approached a couple in a busy area around 10:30 p.m., shouted antisemitic insults including “dirty Jews,” and threatened to kill them. Police said the couple was identified as Jewish because the man wore a kippah. The couple filed a complaint the following day, and two suspects were later arrested.