A haredi man was assaulted in the Paris area after returning from the mikveh, his family said. The victim said he was struck from behind at about 7:30 a.m. on Saturday, without having a clear view of the attacker. “I was punched in the face. The attacker shouted at me for at least five minutes before he left,” he said.
The man said he was wearing a kippah at the time, which made him easily identifiable as Jewish. The attacker, believed to be of North African origin, did not speak to him and struck him several times. “I couldn’t see him; he attacked me from behind,” the victim said.
Out of fear he would endanger the local community, the victim declined to name the exact town where the attack occurred, saying only that it was in the Île-de-France region where Paris is located, i24 French reported.
London: Rabbi attacked near pharmacy
A 77-year-old rabbi was assaulted outside a pharmacy in the Stamford Hill haredi neighborhood of London last week. Video published by the volunteer group Shomrim shows a man throwing chicken bones at the rabbi. London authorities and the Jewish group said the suspect also shouted insults at the rabbi.
77-year-old rabbi assaulted in London
(Video: Shomrim)
The footage, released by Shomrim of north and east London, shows the attacker eating from a box of chicken before throwing the leftovers and then the box itself at the rabbi. Shomrim called the suspect “a disturbed man.”
London police confirmed officers arrested a 41-year-old man “on suspicion of a religiously aggravated offense in Stamford Hill” following the report from Shomrim.
Shomrim said the rabbi suffered trauma from the attack. Antisemitic incidents in Britain, especially in Stamford Hill, continue to alarm local communities.