The highest echelons of the French government -- led by President Jacques Chirac and Premier Dominique DeVillepin -- went out of their way Thursday night to express sympathy and solidarity with their country's Jews, following the torture and murder of Ilan Halimi. Their attendance of memorial services at Paris's Victoire Synagogue for the 23-year-old victim constituted the most unequivocal and authoritative admission that Halimi fell prey to a horrid hate crime.
The knee-jerk inclination of French officialdom, however, was refusal to categorize this as an anti-Semitic homicide. Initially there even was reluctance to note the Jewish identity of the victim.
The discovery of the dying Halimi near rail tracks in the Paris suburb of St. Genevieve on February 13 sent shock waves throughout France. The cell phone salesman was found handcuffed, gagged, battered, slashed and with burns over most of his naked body. He had obviously been tortured to death.
The interrogation of the since-apprehended gang, which abducted and then for three weeks held Halimi for ransom -- before, as French police report, dousing him with flammable liquid and setting him alight -- indicated that greed wasn't the sole motive.
A pretty young woman lured Halimi from the store in which he was employed. He was kept naked, bound and hooded, subjected throughout to gruesome torments. The kidnappers, who demanded ransom, were told that the family was far from wealthy. They replied that funds be elicited "from the synagogue," because "all Jews are rich." The French-Arab and African-Muslim ringleaders also recited verses from the Koran in their communications with the family.
French interior minister Nicolas Sarkozy confirmed that the perpetrators "were convinced that 'Jews have money'... That's called anti-Semitism by conflation." He added that four of six persons the same gang attempted to capture were also Jews.
Sarkozy revealed that some suspects possessed extreme Islamic and pro-Palestinian literature and documents. What they confessed to the police further confirmed the apprehension that Halimi was subjected to barbaric abuse because he was a Jew.
The grisly attack came at a time in which some French higher-ups boasted that they had beaten back the anti-Semitic tide that accompanied the 2000 intifada. Indeed the French government oversaw a dramatic drop in anti-Jewish incidents. Reportedly the number of anti-Semitic assaults in France for 2005 is 47% below that of 2004. In this respect the French approach and record is better than that of other European states.
But this clearly isn't the whole story. Physical attacks are only one expression of the distress experienced by French Jews, many of whom live in close proximity to Muslim immigrants (estimated at 12% of the population). Jewish children in public schools are frequently bullied by Arab classmates. It's almost impossible to teach the Holocaust in schools with large Arab/Muslim student bodies.
In certain urban French neighborhoods it's risky for Jews to wear skullcaps. Many French Muslims regard local Jews, their houses of worship and communal institutions fair game in their attempts to wreak vengeance on Israel. This indeed is something for Israelis to ponder. The Jewish state's enemies often consider all Jews legitimate targets, as the 1994 blast in Buenos Aires's AMIA Jewish Community Center (which claimed 86 lives) demonstrated on a tragic scale.
France was late in combating the "collective punishment" meted by some Muslims on their Jewish neighbors. It first turned a blind eye to numerous anti-Semitic outbreaks, insisting that "there is no anti-Semitism in France." Jews were essentially requested not to bother the authorities.
Official downplaying of rampant anti-Semitism between 2000-2003 left deep emotional scars in the Jewish community. The Halimi murder and the initial disinclination to treat it as a hate crime reopened many old wounds. DeVillepin promised "the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth" about the crime that alarmed France's Jews. He will have to convince them, but not only them.
Anti-Semitism in Paris isn't just an internal French matter. It should concern all of us in the Jewish state. We mustn't be wary of speaking up lest we offend French sensibilities. Ariel Sharon didn't shrink a few years back from calling on French Jews to make aliya. Our government's concern over the Halimi murder should be conveyed directly to the French government at the highest levels, and our solidarity more emphatically shown with the embattled French Jewish community.
Reprinted with permission from the Jerusalem Post.
(41) Bernie Dudill, August 19, 2019 8:03 AM
A CHRISTIANS THOUGHTS
First of all I am not Jewish, I live in cosy little England insulated from most of the worlds troubles. This heinous crime has had little publicity in the UK, most not knowing anything of the details. We feel secure here in our little island as the Muslims spread and multiply at an alarming rate,taking over at all levels local and national and Sharia law creeping in by the back door. I am 75 years old so all my life I have known of the Nazi treatment of an innocent, peaceful society of Europe. Now it seems that another race have seen them as an easy target for their religious madness. One day it will be, not just France, but the whole of Europe that feel their wrath and it will be too late, they will outnumber us all.
(40) Eugene, March 27, 2006 12:00 AM
Do not look at Islam from western mind . . .
Let me quote some of the verses of the quran : -
8:12 We will cast terror into the hearts of non-muslim. Therefore strike off their heads and strike off every fingertip of them.
3:28 Let not the muslims take for friends or helpers the non-muslim.
8:65 Rouse the muslim to fight against non-muslim.
9:5 Then fight and slay the non-muslims wherever ye find them.
9:14 Fight the non-muslim, and god will punish them by your hands, cover them with shame.
9:23 O ye the muslims take not for protectors your fathers and your brothers if they hate islam.
9:123 O ye muslim ! fight the non-muslims who gird you about, and let them find firmness in you.
9:123 O ye muslim ! truly the non-muslims are unclean.
47:4 Therefore, when ye meet the non-muslim, smite at their necks ; at length.
Islam is " The Arab Nationalist Movement " , a highly political movement, their target is to dominate the world. Isreal happen to be at their very door step thus has to be eliminated first so that the whole middle east is under their control. The Holocaust and the arab's call for annihilation of the jews may sound similar, but actually they arev different. If Isreal fall, the West will be in serious trouble. . . The French & UK government have got no backbone, the allow these muslim to do what they like. I advise all the people in the West, pls look at the big picture, it's very very serious. Pls also go visit the site - www.faithfreedom.org, you will find the truth about islam.
(39) crinklebender, March 20, 2006 12:00 AM
Religion itself is the problem.
I am (was) jewish yet work for and with muslims in all kinds of facets of life. What allows this is that none of us really adhere to religion.
Bayla, September 3, 2014 9:09 PM
Perhaps you are talking about yourself, but not me!!
I beg you pardon??
(38) desiree, March 13, 2006 12:00 AM
jews always in war
every jew in the world is up for war because we're jews they think of us as a differnt speices and thats wrong for four thousand years we have been looked down upon and its crap. jews are just as equal as the christians, catholics,blacks whites and any other race or religion
(37) Hannah, March 10, 2006 12:00 AM
What can be done??
I am horrified and sickened at the denial of France to their blatant anti-semitism. I have been asked if I would visit France if went overseas and I said "definitely not" but what else can we do to show France that we do not support their treatment of Jews? maybe we should boycott all french products. I live in Australia and we are not affected severly by anti-semitism, what can we do to support jews of any nation to be accepted and recognised to live harmoniously where ever they like.
(36) Margarita, March 9, 2006 12:00 AM
Very sad story
It is very sad to read about Ilan Halimi's
death (may he rest in peace). It is however the wake-up call to all of us. As always we all in danger and more than ever
we shoud stand all together, enough division. We all expirience racism (from
Arabs and other muslims), and we have to
be honest with ouselves about the dangere. On the other hand it is important to live our lives to the fullest possibilities.
(35) Anonymous, March 5, 2006 12:00 AM
It Is Clear the Moslem World Hate Jews
It is very clear there is massive hatred of Jews by a very large portion of Moslems around the world. Just looking at the multitude of rises in crimes against Jews all over Europe since the Palestinian terrorist war began. And the Moslem world wide disinclination to believe the Holocaust really took place when 6 million Jewish men, women and children were brtutally murdered. The majority of Palestinians recently voted for Hamas, an open terrorist group that calls for Israel's destruction, and voted out the other terrorist group (Fatah) who made beleieve they were interested in peace while funding their own Al Aqsa Brigades terrorist activities agsinst Jewish civilians. Israel must not retreat from such fanatical haters or it would CLEARLY bring them that much closer with their mortars to Israel's population centers and encourage them that terror wins
(34) Anonymous, March 5, 2006 12:00 AM
shameful
to deny what this story is about is shameful by the French. Racism exists in france, and the lack of an organized response leaves blood on the hands of the French government. The Mother was told by the police to stay quiet and they turned a blind eye. Thet must remember an eye for an eye. Sad events take place in our miserable world.
(33) Devorah Diamond, March 5, 2006 12:00 AM
STOP THIS NOW
I have already buried one son, my heart goes out to Ilan parents ... bless you. This badness must stop It could be your son next.
(32) Sherry, March 4, 2006 12:00 AM
May the Lord comfort those who morn
Someday God will avenge the death of this youngman who died simply because he was Jewish.
Just as Able's blood cried out to the Lord for justice so does Halimi's soul.
May the Lord God Almighty continue to bless the Jewish people because you gave us the bible.
A gentile who loves the Jews
(31) Sandra.Hepner, March 4, 2006 12:00 AM
hallucinatory state
If we have any illusions about what hate literature, and motivations the Muslim population are digesting, here is the proof for this unfortunate, handsome young lad. the verses are certainly terrible. if this is what action they are prompting. while most young people are dating, playing tennis and other sports, and working hard for there future, dreaming their dreams of love and commitment. these diabolically indictrinated kids. are plotting and carrying out trickery, kidnap, torture and murder... without any feeling for their victim. whether the victim is innocent or not, is beyond their imagination. and if what they are doing is wrong they are not aware of that either. the suffering and pain they cause to families, they arent aware of that either. they are in some hallucinatory estate, and not aware of their fellow humans.
(30) Anonymous, March 3, 2006 12:00 AM
thank you
(29) Alexandra, March 3, 2006 12:00 AM
Lack of courange in French society
I am terribly sorry to say that, as an American living in Paris for the past three years, the only way for people to understand (NOT ACCEPT) what happened to Ilan and reaction of the police is due to the lack of courage that reigns in French society. French people do not react to anything that does not involve their social security benefits and their pensions. How can an "educated" society accept that politicians who infected innocent people with AIDS several years ago, continue in the government?? These politicians went to prisions and had the prisioners donate blood for hospitals (because, again, since this doesnt touch the French's social security benefits, they wouldn't give blood) but NEVER CHECKED TO SEE IF IT WAS INFECTED WITH ANY KIND OF VIRUS. Neither did they respond when the official comment of the politicians was "We are guilty but no responsible". A nation who shrugs off the fact that Mitterand had a longtime mistress and a child with her. This child parading in the Elysee (equivalent to our White House in national importance, not size of course) like nothing at all, his mistress and daughter living off taxpayers' money, and then for his funeral there's both the mistress, wife, and children legitamite and illegimate alike. One must seriously ansk oneself if this society has any kind of moral values whatsoever.
To make matters worse, the muslim community is multiplying uncontrollably at a furious rate and the government does not have the courage to upset them in any way or manner. They fear the violent reaction of Islamists in every way including bombings. Is that not one of the major reasons why France surrendered to Hitler? They didn't want their precious buildings destroyed? And to this day do not forgive Americans for the buildings they destroyed while FREEING THEM?
I wanted, with all my heart and soul, to assiste the manifestation in memory of Ilan last Sunday but I decided against it after finding out just a few days earlier that I'm pregnant. It would have been to dangerous and I will not give any Muslim the satisfaction of hurting another Jew if it's in my power.
People must see what Jews are going through in this country. I don't know if it's this bad in any other country other than Israel. I agree with the writers who say that there is no comment from the Israeli officials, we must however, come together as Jews and make our voices heard.
Shabbat Shalom
(28) Alexander, March 2, 2006 12:00 AM
Why is this nowhere else in the mainstream media?
My deepest sympathies goes out to the Halimi family. My heart breaks as I read this article. I live in New York and have heard nothing in the media about this. This site is where I learned of this evil crime against this man, for no other reason than his judaism. I agree with most of the comments I have read especially those questioning the lack of outrage and demands for justice. I feel like this should open our eyes to our division and complacancy as a people. One day our fear to speak out and choice to ignore this kind of hate may bring our own destruction. The question we all need to ask ourselves is, are my children next?
(27) Char, March 1, 2006 12:00 AM
The Crime Against Ilan Halimi is a Crine Against All of Us
How can the Muslims be peaceful when the Koran speaks out and demands death to the infidels? It is a relgion set against not only the Jewish people, but the rest of the world as well. It doesn't recognize tolerance of those who differ from their set of beliefs.
They demand death to those who oppose them and insult them. But, on the other hand, to shout in front of a camera, Death to Jews, kill the Americans -- then eventually someone says -- we Muslims are peaceful -- is not true. The Koran says a husband can beat his wife and to kill the infidels. The Muslims cannot co-exist with us -- their beliefs won't allow it. They hate their enemies and they have been taught to destroy their enemies. They cannot live amongst the civilized. They cannot conform to the ideology of loving their neighbors as themselves. The suicide martyrs, afterall, believe that their G-d will allow them to commit adultery in heaven with 70 virgins! What blasphemy! Woe to the women that bore devils that dress in sheep's clothing!
(26) Steve Schwartz, March 1, 2006 12:00 AM
The real problem is the hatred that is preached in arab mosques throughtout the world.
Isreal is too worried about world opinion, By now we should know that Isreal has to take matters in their own hands.When Israel "occupied" Gaza they should have kicked out hatemongers and controlled what was taught in the schools. If you are an occupier then occupy.SAudi Arabia "our friend" is perpetrator of more hate than any country. Until we recognize and take matters in our hands nothing will change.Europe doesn't give a dam about Jews. The second world war proved that.Again the Europeans will turn their heads. Israel has military strength now;this may not last long. The Jewish people are expendable to them.How we have survived this long is unbelievable.To defeat the moslem extremists we must continuously expose the hatred that they teach just as the Nazis did. We are dealing with a ruthless enemy who has no moralityWe must not be afraid or else we are in for another Holocaust.
(25) BETTY MCCAIN, March 1, 2006 12:00 AM
WHEN WILL WE REALIZE THE HATRED
The soul purpose of Islam is to kill the Jews and wipe Israel off the face of the earth. When will the world recognize this and take it seriously? Perhaps the world is so blinded by it's need for oil that it chooses to look the other way, while jews are once again being persecuted all over again all over the world and it is not getting any better. I think it may already be to late for the Jewish people to get help from the world, therefore they have no other recourse but to defend themselves with thier GOD GIVEN WEAPONS....NUCLEUR....AGAINST IRAN WHO IS THE MAJOR PERPERTRATOR AND ENABLER AND ABETTOR OF THIS ISLAMIC FURY AGAINST THE JEWISH PEOPLE ALL OVER THE WORLD AND IS A MAJOR THREAT TO THE LAND OF ISRAEL THAT ISRAEL WILL BE WIPED OFF THE MAP. ISRAEL AND THE US MUST DEFEND EACH OTHER FROM THIS GLOBAL MAJOR EVIL...IRAN MAY GOD BLESS THE LAND OF ISRAEL FOR HE MADE IT AND IT WILL ENDURETH FOREVER AND EVER AMEN
(24) Tim Cambridge, March 1, 2006 12:00 AM
Barbarian cancer
To the family of Ilan Halimi, to all Jewish people, to all civilised people, G_d bless.
The gang, The Barbarians, were appropriately named. Civilised people of all cultures, races and creeds have a duty to remove the barbarian cancer, in all its guises, from our midsts, and thereby cure our society.
I am trying in vain to find at least 1 Muslim voice anywhere on the internet who will speak up and speak out against this sadistic murder, which involved the Koran.
Where are they?
They don’t speak out against the torture and murder of an innocent person, not even when their holy book has been desecrated by these murderers. Have they no respect for others? Have they no respect even for their own G_d?
I pray that Muslims find the true meaning of G-d by speaking out unconditionally against this type of barbarism. Then maybe Ilan's horrific death will not have been in vain.
(23) Luke A., February 28, 2006 12:00 AM
Let us go back to our homeland God gave us.
United we stand, devided we fall. Let us return to the land of father Abraham
We should not fear of what is happening there. God loves His people. HE will protect us. Shalom
(22) MINDEL, February 28, 2006 12:00 AM
WHERE IS THE UPROAR FROM THE SHULS
HAVE JEWS BECOME TOO COMFORTABLE IN THE U.S. JONATHAN POLLARD INCARCERATED, INCARCARATES ALL OF US AS THIS MURDER AFFECTS ALL JEW. THE ISRAELI GOV'T IS QUIET ABOUT THIS AS IS THE U.S. PAPERS & THE JEWISH ORGANIZATIONS. WHAT IS HAPPENING IS REAL AND WE BETTER ADDRESS IT BEFORE IT HAPPENS ON OUR FRONT DOORS.
(21) Thomas Morris, February 28, 2006 12:00 AM
What?
The French nor any others in Europe are going to admit that they have a problem. Ask for a secular society and that is exactly what you get. There will always have to be someone to hate even in secular societies. Freedom is one thing; no morals is quite another thing altogeather.The Jew just always seems to get picked as the bad guy with an occasional Christian thrown in for good measure!
(20) Matthew J. Fleming, February 28, 2006 12:00 AM
A World Wide Centuries Old Problem...
All decent people will mourn the cruel death of Ilan Halimi. This is not however a Jewish problem. Not until the non-Muslim victims of jihad and dhimmitude unite will anything change. The lives and blood of all innocents Jewish, Christian, Zoroasterian, Bahai, Hindu, Buddhists victims of this brutality both now and for the past 1,300 is precious to HaShem. Thank you, Matthew J. Fleming
(19) Gail Lee, February 27, 2006 12:00 AM
A message to the French Government-Anti Semitism
I would like to offer my condolences to the family of Ilan Halimi. My heart aches for what has happened to him.
Anti-Semitism needs to be addressed in those countries where the hate for the Jews is so rampant that violence is used against them. Let's educate our children about different beliefs and religions. We all need to learn to be tolerant of one another.
A message needs to be sent to the French citizens that such actions will not be tolerated and the perpetrators of such hate crimes will be severely punished. This is a hate crime against the Jewish community and the French better own up to this and call it what it is, which is an anti-Semitic crime.
May the memory of Ilan Halimi be for a blessing and may his family know that they are not alone in the mourning of their son’s death.
(18) Joe, February 27, 2006 12:00 AM
How many more wake up calls do we need?
Perhaps the French, and the rest of the world, would care more if we *as a community* showed 1/100 the outrage over things like this that the Arabs do when they see a cartoon they don't like.
Our house is divided. Our enemies are at the gates. I beg you to ask yourself "what have I done for the House of Israel today?" How many fellow Jews have I reached out to? What can I do to help organize us? What can I do to help getting the whole family to work together? What can I do to remove the artificial divisions between us; between religious and secular, between left and right? How can we save ourselves?
The enemy is out there. Our weakness helps them.
(17) Miryam, February 27, 2006 12:00 AM
French hypocrites
Like always, the French government is so hypocritical is disgusting. The truth is noone in the world cares about us Jews, it looks like not even the leadership in Israel today cares about the people or the Land. May G-d avenge the murder of Ilan Halimi.
(16) rachel manskar, February 27, 2006 12:00 AM
unacceptable
There needs to be a loud outcry,this cannot go on without dealing with it, and bring the guilty to justice.
(15) diana henry, February 27, 2006 12:00 AM
response to Halimi murder
Since you recommend contacting the French government, why not give some e-mail addresses or mailing addresses as a convenience to your readers, who otherwise might not have the time or the ability to know whom to address?
(14) Daniela, February 27, 2006 12:00 AM
Thank you Caroline Glick
Thank you for filling in the blanks, it was much needed. The information you provided was just as important as that of the article itself. We all need to write letters to the Israeli and American governements for the shame they have brought by not decrying this disgusting act. What if it had happened in New York ? I wonder...
(13) suzi clark, February 27, 2006 12:00 AM
it only takes two words to summarize.nazis still
i am horified and yes even a little surprised. this world has asccepted situations endangering one group, in order not to inflame another group. has the world gone crazy with no hope of cure?
the only governments who try to cover up, deny, or embrace hate crimes(of any group) seem akin to nazi germany.
why do we allow the better good of any people, be decided by war mongers, thugs, murderers, and typically the lowest rung on the ladder of civilization?
is there something in the water which has relegated us all insane?
prejudice is a difficult concept to anyone with a functioning brain, but to hate with complete abandon and a love of destruction is so far beyond what i can conceive of in a so called enlightened society, or even a primitive one.
wake up and smell the burning crosses, the swastikas, the burning churches,the accepted abuse of anyone, before we become history's saddest comment yet.
a society of cowards, uninvolved and uncaring beings , can not be what we are made up of. this can not be.
there is so much beauty, culture, love, education, and true concern among most of us, that it is inconceivable this type of life form survives and grows.
we must all be horrified when anyone, or any group is being attempted to be protected like mere cockroaches.
this type of person, isn't human, this is subhuman and grows with ease on the tossed out garbage spewn by the apathetic.
dear G-D PLEASE HELP US.
i literally am sick to my core for any and all peoples who are not regarded as humans.
(12) FERN SIDMAN, February 27, 2006 12:00 AM
ANTI-SEMITISM IN FRANCE
MURDER OF FRENCH JEW NOT AN ISOLATED INCIDENT
BY: FERN SIDMAN
The gang that kidnapped, tortured and brutally murdered Ilan Halimi, 23, had threatened several prominent businessmen, lawyers and a well-known humanitarian activist, a French newspaper reported Saturday. The daily Liberation reported that the group behind the murder, which authorities have linked to anti-Semitism, tried to extort money from a founder of Medecins Sans Frontieres, or Doctors Without Borders. Also targeted were the director of the Arte TV channel, a Paris lawyer and the head of a supermarket chain, the newspaper reported, citing police officials.
Police investigating the murder of Halimi earlier this month have made several arrests. The suspected gang leader, was arrested Wednesday in Abidjan, Ivory Coast, and France is seeking his extradition. Fourteen people have been placed under investigation - a step short of being charged - in the case, and two more people were detained Friday for questioning.
Ilan Halimi was abducted on January 21 after a woman came into the mobile phone store where he worked and charmed him into a dinner date. The first break in the case came after the police released an Identikit image of the woman suspected of "baiting" Halimi. After turning herself in our of fears that neighbors would identify her, the woman claimed that she was indeed asked to seduce a number of young men, but was unaware of the act's purpose. She identified the apartment where Halimi had been kept.
Halimi was found on February 13, tied to a tree, naked, wounded, handcuffed, gagged and covered with burn and cut marks on 80 percent of his body. Authorities found Halimi near railroad tracks in the Essonne region south of Paris a few days after the kidnappers ended contact with Halimmi's family. He died en route to a hospital.
"They acted with indescribable cruelty," the judiciary police chief leading the investigation said. "They kept him naked and tied up for weeks. They cut him and in the end poured flammable liquid on him and set him alight."
Halimi's family received a series of ransom demands - starting with one for nearly $537,000. Ilan Halimi's mother revealed to the Haaretz newspaper that the police told the family to ignore the gang's attempts to contact them for five critical days, after which Ilan was found near death outside the city. "Five days before Ilan was found, the police told us, 'Don't answer the phone, don't repond to text messages.' We saw dozens of calls and ignored them. On Thursday they found Ilan dead."
"We think there is anti-Semitism in this affair," Rafi Halimi, Ilan's uncle, told the press.
"First, because the killers tried to kidnap at least two other Jews, and second, because of what they said on the phone," Rafi Halimi added. "When we said we didn't have 500,000 euros to give them they told us to go to the synagogue and get it," Rafi said. "They also recited verses from the Koran."
Under questioning by investigators, one of the suspects "made it clear that he had attacked Ilan Halimi 'because he was Jewish, and Jews are rich".
"If Ilan hadn't been Jewish, he wouldn't have been murdered," Ilan's mom said. She accuses the police of ignoring the anti-Semitic motivation in the case in order not to alienate Muslims, Haaretz reported.
According to a recent article on this subject by Caroline Glick, she states, "It appears that Ilan Halimi's murderers had some connection to Hamas. Tuesday, French Interior Minister Nicolas Sarkozy said that police found propaganda published by the Palestinian Charity Committee or the CBSP at the home of one of the suspects. The European Jewish Press reported this week that Israel has alleged that the organization is a front group for Palestinian terrorists and that in August 2003 the US government froze the organization's US bank accounts, accusing it of links with Hamas."
It is clear that the French authorities remain callous and indifferent when it comes to Jews being murdered on their soil or anywhere else. This attitude was evidenced in their initial denial that anti-Semitism played a role in this murder and their expressed policy of ignoring any evidence of anti-Semitism.
This may be the first act of Hamas terrorism directed against a Jew outside of Israel, but clearly it won't be the last. Everyday, we are being saturated with the anti-Semitic diatribes of an Iranian President named Ahmadnajed, of Hamas leaders and leading intellectuals. We can no longer deny it. Anti-Semitism is in full swing. It can only get worse.
(11) Richard Wolberg, February 27, 2006 12:00 AM
Action Must Be Taken
This evil perpetrated by anti-Semites in France and anywhere else, as well as ALL hate crimes must be vehemently decried, condemned and denounced. Perpetrators of such crimes must be prosecuted to the full extent of the law.
(10) BEN COHEN, February 27, 2006 12:00 AM
ADDRESS OF FRENCH GOVERNMENT
IF RESPONSE TO CARTOON ARE RIOTS AND BURNING WHAT SHOULD THE RESPONSE BE TO MURDER.. WHAT IS ADDRESS TO SEND LETTER TO FRENCH GOVERNMENT
(9) Anonymous, February 27, 2006 12:00 AM
Caroline Glick -- MUST READING
Ilan Halimi's barbarous murder in France should awaken all Jews to the most significant truth of our times: Today, every Jew in the world is on the front lines of war.
As was the case 70 years ago, every Jew today is a target for our enemies, who shout from every soapbox and prove at every opportunity that their goal is the annihilation of the Jewish people. From 1933-1945, the enemy was Nazi Germany.
Today, the enemy is political Islam. Its call for jihad aimed at annihilating the Jews and dominating the world is answered by millions of people throughout the world.
Among the lessons of the Holocaust, there is one that is almost never mentioned. That lesson is that it is possible, and indeed fairly easy to exterminate the Jews. The fact that the Holocaust happened proves that it is absolutely possible for the Jewish people to be wiped off the map -
just as Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Hamas leader Khaled Mashal promise.
The story of Ilan Halimi's murder at the hands of a terrorist gang of French Muslims brings to the surface the various pathologies now converging to make the prospect of annihilating all Jews seem possible to our enemies. First, there are the murderers who took such apparent pleasure and
felt such pride in the fact that for 20 days they tortured their Jewish hostage to death.
This makes sense. Anti-Semitism in the Muslim dominated suburbs of Paris and other French cities is all-encompassing. As Nidra Poller related in Thursday's WallStreet Journal, "One of the most troubling aspects of this affair is the probable involvement of relatives and neighbors, beyond the immediate circle of the gang [of
kidnappers], who were told about the Jewish hostage and dropped in to participate in the torture."
It appears that Ilan Halimi's murderers had some connection to Hamas. Tuesday, French Interior Minister Nicolas Sarkozy said that police found propaganda published by the Palestinian Charity Committee or the CBSP at the home of one of the suspects. The European Jewish Press reported this
week that Israel has alleged that the organization is a front group for Palestinian terrorists and that in August 2003 the US government froze the organization's US bank
accounts, accusing it of links with Hamas.
Halimi's family alleges that throughout the 20 days of Ilan's captivity, the French police refused to take the anti-Semitic motivations of the kidnappers into account. The investigators insisted on viewing his kidnap as a garden
variety kidnap-for-ransom criminal case, which they said generally involves no threat to the life of the captive. The police maintained their refusal to investigate the anti-Semitic motivations of the kidnappers in spite of the
fact that in their e-mail and telephone communications with Ilan's family, his captors repeatedly referred to his Judaism, and on at least one occasion recited verses from the Koran while Ilan was heard screaming in agony in the
background. The family alleges that if the police had been willing to acknowledge that Ilan was abducted because he was Jewish, they would have recognized that his life was in clear and immediate danger and acted with greater urgency.
Like the police, the French government waited an entire week after Ilan was found naked, with cuts and burns over 80 percent of his body by a train station in suburban Paris, before acknowledging the anti-Semitic nature of the crime.
According to the press reports, the French government was at least partially motivated to suppress the issue of anti-Semitism by its fear of inflaming the passions of the French Muslims who make up between 10 to 13 percent of the
French population and comprise a quarter of the population under 25 years old. And yet, now that the French government has acknowledged that the crime was motivated by hatred of Jews, it is behaving responsibly in pursuing the murderers
and decrying the attack on French Jewry.
In addition to the exterminationist anti-Semitism of Ilan's murderers and the unwillingness of the French authorities to acknowledge the anti-Semitic nature of the crime until it was too late, there is one more aspect of the case that
bears note. That is Israel's reaction to the atrocity. In short, there has been absolutely no official Israeli reaction to the abduction, torture and murder of a Jew in France by a predominantly Muslim terrorist gang that kidnapped, tortured and murdered him because he was a Jew.
No Israeli government minister, official or spokesman has condemned his murder. No Israeli official has demanded that the French authorities investigate why the police refused to take anti-Semitism into account during Ilan's captivity. No
Israeli official flew to Paris to participate in Ilan's funeral or any other memorial or demonstration in his memory. The Foreign Ministry's Web site makes no mention of
his murder. The Israeli Embassy in Paris - which has been without an ambassador for the past several months - only publicly expressed its condolences to the Halimi family on February 23, 10 days after Ilan was found. This, when the
French Jewish community considers Halimi's murder to have been the greatest calamity to have befallen it in recent years; when aliya rates from France rose 25% last year; and when Ilan's mother has told reporters that her son had
planned to make aliya soon and was just staying in France to save money to finance his move to Israel. For its part, as Michelle Mazel pointed out in The Jerusalem Post Thursday, the French press has noted that the Israeli media has not
given the story prominent coverage. Halimi's murder has not appeared on the front pages of the papers or at the top of the television or radio broadcasts.
Although appalling, the absence of an official Israeli outcry against Halimi's murder is not the least surprising. Today, the unelected Kadima interim government, like the Israeli media, is doing everything in its power to lull the
Israeli people into complacency towards the storm of war raging around us. Against the daily barrages of Kassam rockets on southern Israel; nervous reports of al-Qaida setting up shop in Judea, Samaria and Gaza; the ascension of
Hamas to power in the Palestinian Authority; and Iran's threats of nuclear annihilation, Israel's citizenry, under the spell of Kadima and the media, appears intent on ignoring the dangers and pretending that what happens to Jews in France has nothing to do with us...
Sir Martin Gilbert, perhaps the preeminent British historian of World War II, has said, "The interesting thing about history is that it always repeats itself."
As was the case in World War II, today the Jewish people in Israel and throughout the world is being targeted for annihilation by an enemy bent on world domination. Ilan Halimi's monstrous murder is just the latest sign of this disturbing reality. Today, as 70 years ago, the Jews are
disserved by poor and weak leaders who refuse to see the dangers.
But if we learn from history and we assess our options, we will see that history needn't repeat itself. It is within our power to reverse the course of our all too repetitious past.
(8) Jane La Lone, February 27, 2006 12:00 AM
I Don't See This Going Away!
It is so distressing to hear all of the denial about anti-semitism. It is frightening that governments give the power to the torturers to continue thier heinous acts. It tears the heart and leaves the soul to bleed. When the milder forms of anti-semitism is tolerated, it escaltes in the hands of fanatics and thugs!
(7) Mauricio Kaplan, February 27, 2006 12:00 AM
France: Blindfolding with headscarves for hairless heads!
Those Muslims arrested in France? Well, they'll be most probably exchanged for the first Frenchman caught in the ME while on his pledge to help other Muslims to destroy world's truth and honor. The flics? Their government? We all know what their usual behavior is, don't we? Their only attempt to fight terror so far was by banning headscarves which, as we know, was the ultimate French women style to cover their hairless head by the end of WWII.
(6) Anonymous, February 26, 2006 12:00 AM
Finally a reminder that any antisemitic act is a tradegy for the Jewish world at large!
These past two weeks I have been constantly haunted by this horrific affair, but what has bothered me most is that whilst the French Jewish community is trying to speak up, I haven't heard the same from the rest of the Jewish world. The English-speaking Jewish community in particular is very good at rallying together when something matters enough, doesn't the barbaric torture and murder of a young European Jew just because he was a Jew constitute a Jewish emergency? Why doesn't the entire Jewish world speak up? Have we forgotten the KOL Yisroel Aravim Zeh BeZeh?!
(5) J. Goldberg, February 26, 2006 12:00 AM
Should concern the entire WORLD, period.
This first-degree torture and execution should deeply trouble the entire world, not just Jews. Let us hope and pray that Ilan (Z"L) did not die in vain. Baruch Dayan Emet.
(4) Marc Milton-Talbot, February 26, 2006 12:00 AM
Horrific crime.
The French should send the jihadists and their families back to whichever Islamic Paradise that they and their hatred came from.
(3) Elishevah, February 26, 2006 12:00 AM
ILAN WE MOURN YOU! MAY YOU REST IN PEACE
The jewish community all over the world should know how the situation is in France since Spetember 2001, a rise in muslim fanatism, panarabism, praises of antisemitism in the media, it becomes so fashionable for non-jews to compare Israel to Germany during WWII (G-D forbids).Unfortunatly the result is in the savage murder of a young innocent, 3 weeks of suffering and humiliation, it is a gzeirah for klal Israel, we are crying tears of blood.May all the plans of reshaim fail.Every jew is wondering what the future will be in Europe,so far not a single day without an arab spitting and insulting you in the streets, subway, bus, librairy.
May the memory of Ilan Halimi be a blessing, may he rest in peace, and be the first one to raise when Mashiah comes.amen
(2) Jack Stratton, February 26, 2006 12:00 AM
Frances Shame
The whole world, Jews, Christians and goverments should be ready to move as the will of God demands. I strongly believe that there were tears in Heaven over this cowarly murder, and the cowarness of France. I do not believe that all people of the Islamic faith are violent terrorests. We mut remember that when Arafat died, and Israel vacated the Gaza Strip, Hamas stated that now we will attack Jews in all countries of the world. It is the terrorist that are the proplem and the whole world needs to withold all aid to the PA, and be willing to stamp out terror within their own countries.
(1) Tzipporah Saunders, February 26, 2006 12:00 AM
Concolences
My condolences to the family of Ilan Halimi. May the perpretrators in this heinous crime be brought to justice and may France finally wake up.