Rabbi Arié Engelberg was on his way back from synagogue when he was reportedly kicked, punched, and bitten on the shoulder.

The rabbi of Orléans, France, was violently attacked in front of his son while returning from synagogue on Saturday, French news outlets France 3 and France Bleu reported.

According to the reports, Rabbi Arié Engelberg was on his way back from the synagogue at 1:30 p.m. – accompanied by his nine-year-old son – when he was kicked and punched, bitten on the shoulder, and insulted.

He reportedly sustained wounds to the head. A witness to the incident shared footage with France Bleu Orléans radio.

Rabbi Engelberg told BFM-TV on Sunday that the suspect had first asked him if he was Jewish, to which he said yes.

The suspect – a teenager – then started to try and film the rabbi, who said “I decided to act and I pushed his phone.”

The suspect then hit and bit him. 

Earlier in the day a witness told BFM-TV “I saw several blows, at least three or four, and quite violent. He had some blood around his neck, he was in shock due to the violence of the incident,” adding, “I immediately understood that it was antisemitic when I saw the attacker kick the rabbi’s hat.” 

Additionally in his BFM-TV interview, Rabbi Engelberg said “what’s sad is it was just a question of time before suffering an antisemitic attack.”

“The question is how we react and to what degree we react, if you are alone, if there are people around.”

Despite what happened, he added that “nothing is going to change, I won’t change anything. Actually the opposite – I will continue to walk with pride, to express my Judaism with pride and to continue to direct the Jewish community of Orleans.”

Response to the attack 

“We are appalled, outraged,” said Joëlle Gellert, president of the International League Against Racism and Antisemitism in Loiret (LICRA). “Racism is not an opinion but a crime.”

President of CRIF for France’s central region, Eliane Klein, called the incident “appalling.”

“There is currently a poisonous and clearly antisemitic atmosphere in France, but I didn’t think it would contaminate Orléans, which is a peaceful city. Until now, we had graffiti from time to time, at most. I hoped that this gangrene wouldn’t spread to Orléans. That’s why it’s all the more shocking,” Klein said.

Yonathan Arfi, the head of CRIF, sent his support to the rabbi, calling the incident a “cowardly and violent attack in front of his nine-year-old son.”

Pascal Tebibel, a vice president of the Orléans metropolitan area, said he was “deeply shocked by the antisemitic attack on Rabbi Arié Engelberg in Orléans.”

“Hate has no place in our society. Solidarity with the Jewish community. Let us not remain silent in the face of the intolerable,” he wrote on X/Twitter.

The public prosecutor of Orléans told France 3 Centre-Val de Loire that she had opened an investigation into “intentional violence committed because of the victim’s real or supposed religious affiliation.”

Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar said. “This is a vile and intolerable act. The resurgence of antisemitism in France and across Europe is not only alarming – it is a wake-up call to European governments, leaders, and civil society. Antisemitism is dangerous, and it demands an uncompromising response.

Source: https://www.jpost.com/diaspora/article-847164?utm_source=jpost.app.apple&utm_medium=share