Jew-hatred in France has 'exploded' since Hamas massacre of Oct. 7

Antisemitism has exploded dramatically in France since Saturday, Oct. 7, when Hamas terrorists invaded Israel's southern border and massacred 1,400 Israelis and foreign civilians, according to France's Minister of Interior on Sunday.

“The number of antisemitic acts has exploded,” French Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin said in an interview with France 2 TV.

Some 486 individuals, including 102 foreign nationals, have reportedly been arrested across France for anti-Jewish offenses.

The interior minister added that those arrested included “young kids who say very serious things” to adults involved in pro-Hamas riots in Paris and other French cities.

In addition, French authorities are probing numerous cases involving threatening graffiti with Stars of David on buildings in Paris. In the town of Saint-Ouen, the graffiti included the message “Palestine will overcome.”

The Union of Jewish Students of France argue that the antisemitic graffiti is intended to recreate the atmosphere during Nazi-occupied France, when French Jews were forced to wear a humiliating yellow star of David.

France has one of the largest Jewish communities in Europe, believed to number around 500,000 people, with the majority of French Jewry hailing from North Africa. It is also home to Western Europe’s largest Muslim population, with between 6 and 8 million people, according to reports. The largest number of anti-Jewish threats have been from people with Middle Eastern and North African Muslim immigrant background.

A Jewish woman in her 30s was seriously stabbed outside of her home in the city of Lyon in the southeastern part of France, where swastika graffiti was discovered on her door. According to her lawyer, she was stabbed in the stomach twice by the perpetrator and needed hospital treatment but did not sustain life-threatening injuries.

Lyon Mayor Gregory Doucet condemned the violent antisemitic incident on X, former Twitter.

"Such an act of violence is unthinkable. I offer all my support to the victim and her relatives," Doucet tweeted.

Israel's National Security Council recently issued an unprecedented global travel warning for Israeli citizens due to the dramatic increase in antisemitism worldwide since the war against Hamas began in Gaza.

“In recent weeks, against the backdrop of the Swords of Iron conflict, the National Security Council and the Foreign Ministry have witnessed a significant rise in incidents of antisemitism and incitement, alongside life-threatening attacks against Israelis and Jews around the world,” read the joint statement by the council and the Israeli Foreign Ministry.

The travel warning specifically advised against traveling across the Middle East, to Turkey or to nations bordering the Islamic Republic of Iran.

However, antisemitic incidents are also sweeping across Western cities in the United States and Europe.

The levels of antisemitism have increased by a whopping 500% compared to 2022, according to a new survey conducted by the Jewish Agency, the World Zionist Organization and the Israeli Diaspora Affairs and Combating Antisemitism Ministry.

French President Emmanuel Macron recently visited Israel to express France’s support of the Jewish state and its war against the terror organization Hamas.

Macron stressed that Hamas constitutes a threat to Israel and to the entire free world.

“This fight against terrorism is obviously a matter of existence for Israel, but it’s a matter of existence for all of us,” he said.