Violence Near and Far: Settlers in Israel and Protestors in France

JEWISH BUSINESSES ATTACKED IN MARSEILLE, A SYNAGOGUE RANSACKED IN PARIS—AND FAMILIAR FEARS RETURN

Having just finished writing "They Took His Name in Vain," I am very familiar with pogroms and violent attacks against Jews. The Holocaust started with Kristallnacht—the Night of Broken Glass—when Nazis burned or destroyed over 1,000 synagogues and 100 Jews were murdered. It took place in Germany, Austria, and the Sudetenland (the ethnic German part of Czechoslovakia). Marseille is home to about 300,000 Muslims and 100,000 Jews.

Two days ago, Jewish-owned businesses were among the shops attacked during the unrest in Marseille on October 17. In Paris, a synagogue was broken into and ransacked, with prayer books and religious objects scattered across the floor—all too reminiscent of the past.

One account raises the disturbing possibility that some businesses were deliberately selected because their owners were Jewish.

Speaking on CNews, French journalist Paul Amar said, in translation: “On one street in Marseille, all the businesses owned by Jews were set on fire. Businesses run by Muslims were not.” He also alleged that the attackers possessed addresses of Jewish shopkeepers. Amar said he had learned this information that morning. If confirmed, that pattern would strongly suggest deliberate antisemitic targeting in a world that has grown in its vocal contempt for Jewish people.

Once again, this has nothing to do with Israel. The platitudes of “We have no problem with Jews—just Israel” don't work when Jewish-owned businesses are specifically vandalized, and Muslim-owned ones are left untouched.

There are limits to what we currently know. Amar’s allegation concerns one street. We do not have conclusive evidence that Muslim-owned businesses were spared throughout Marseille, or that only Jewish-owned businesses were attacked. France’s Jewish Community Protection Service, the SPCJ, confirmed that Jewish-owned businesses suffered damage but said the available evidence had not established that they were selected because of their owners’ religion.

The synagogue incident in Paris raises a separate concern. At the Ohalei Yaakov congregation’s temporary premises in the 19th arrondissement, intruders searched cupboards and the rabbi’s office. Prayer books, tefillin and other objects were found scattered on the floor. The Torah scrolls reportedly remained unharmed, and a synagogue committee member suggested an attempted theft, although nothing was believed to be missing.

I find little reassurance in the suggestion that this may have been an attempted theft. A burglary can include vandalism. Scattering sacred books and religious objects across a synagogue floor violates a place of worship, whatever the intruders hoped to steal.

That does not, by itself, conclusively establish an antisemitic motive. Investigators must determine whether the objects were thrown aside during a search or deliberately desecrated. But an explanation involving theft does not erase the damage or the distress inflicted on the congregation.

For Jewish people, such reports carry the weight of history: Kristallnacht, Russian pogroms, blood libels. Across nearly two millennia of European Jewish life, persecution has repeatedly interrupted periods of relative security. Christian accusations of collective Jewish responsibility for Jesus’ death helped sustain hostility. During the Crusades, Jewish communities suffered massacres; during the Black Death, Jews faced accusations of poisoning wells and violent reprisals.

As someone who has spent much of the past year writing about religious antisemitism, I find these reports painfully familiar. Jewish communities have had too many reasons to recognize danger early.

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French authorities owe their Jewish citizens a thorough investigation, protection, and accountability. If businesses were selected because their owners were Jewish, that needs to be addressed aggressively. And while the investigation continues, the violation of a synagogue must be condemned without qualification.

In the late 1800s, a French officer named Alfred Dreyfus was falsely accused of treason. It was so clearly motivated by antisemitism that the Dreyfus Affair (as it came to be called) confirmed to many Jews that the only safe future would be in their own state in the ancient land of Israel. So no—Zionism was not born out of racism or supremacy, but out of necessity!

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Statement on Settler Violence

(UPDATE: Today, Israelis authorities arrested 10 suspects.)

I am Israeli, I love my country, and I believe the Jewish people’s connection to this land is rooted in Scripture. God’s covenant with Israel is everlasting (Gen. 17:8), and His calling is irrevocable (Rom. 11:29). My love for Israel does not excuse me from speaking honestly, even when doing so comes at a personal cost. I do hesitate, knowing that Israel’s enemies may use these words as propaganda to portray an entire country through the actions of a few extremists.

Having spent the better part of the past year writing a book on the history of religious antisemitism, I am painfully aware of how often Jews have suffered violence justified in God’s name. That history deepens my conviction that we must speak out when extremists among our own people invoke God’s promises while terrorizing others.

The recent attacks against Palestinians, journalists, and diplomats are indefensible. Beating people, burning property, and terrorizing families cannot be justified by any biblical promise. Our government has a duty to protect innocent people and bring their attackers to justice, regardless of who they are.

Most Israelis living in Judea and Samaria are not violent. They are families working and raising children. Some live there because of religious convictions; others because housing is more affordable. They should not all be blamed for these attacks.

The Washington Institute for Near East Policy estimates that a core group of roughly 300–500 activists carries out most of the violence. It describes many as teenagers living in isolated outposts, often disconnected from school and family support. Their vulnerability helps explain how they become radicalized; it does not excuse their actions or those of adults who encourage them.

Our government has failed to confront this violence adequately, allowing it to persist. In my judgment, political calculations play a role. A righteous government enforces the law, protects innocent people, and prosecutes those responsible, regardless of the political consequences.

These extremists do not speak for Israel. President Isaac Herzog has strongly condemned the violence. The IDF described the attack on diplomats as a “severe act of violence,” and Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar also condemned it. U.S. Ambassador Mike Huckabee called the separate attack on American photojournalist Heidi Levine a “despicable act of terror.” But the Prime Minister has downplayed the danger and even blamed the victims. The video evidence and firsthand testimony cannot be ignored.

Nor is this violence confined to troubled teenagers. Last year, Palestinian activist Awdah Hathaleen was shot and killed. It took more than a year for adult settler Yinon Levi to be indicted in connection with his death. Delayed accountability emboldens wrongdoers.

I call on our government to act judiciously, righteously, and honestly.

I believe in the continuing Abrahamic covenant and God’s irrevocable calling on Israel. I believe with all my heart that modern Israel is the greatest fulfillment of prophecy in modern history. Scripture also shows that God at times will discipline His covenant people and hold their leaders accountable.

I call on our leaders to do the right thing: protect innocent people, prosecute the perpetrators, and stop this extremism, which is costing lives and disgracing a country I love.