Suspected Merah accomplices arrested in Toulouse

Published on May 16, 2013

Two men suspected of being accomplices of Islamist terrorist Mohammed Merah were arrested near Toulouse.

Paris rabbi’s attacker had assaulted another Jew, security service says

Published on May 1, 2013

The Iranian man who attacked a rabbi in Paris had assaulted another French Jew in the same area several days earlier, the French Jewish community’s security service said.

U.S. believes Syria used chemical weapons but says facts needed

Published on April 25, 2013

U.S. intelligence agencies believe Syria's government has likely used chemical weapons on a small scale, the White House said on Thursday, but added that President Barack Obama needed "credible and corroborated" facts before acting on that assessment.

What would Woody Allen do?

By Tom Tugend
Published on April 24, 2013

“Paris-Manhattan,” whose respective residents consider their city to be the center of the known universe, is the title of an appealing French movie by a first-time feature film director.

French chief rabbi receives threatening letter

Published on March 29, 2013

The chief rabbi of France has received a letter from an obscure organization warning of “brutal actions” against French Jewish journalists.

Report: France backs designating Hezbollah militiamen terrorists

Published on March 29, 2013

The French government supports adding the armed wing of Hezbollah to the European Union’s list of terrorist organizations, an Arabic daily reported.

Three men linked to Mohamed Merah arrested in France

Published on March 27, 2013

Three men believed to be linked to Mohamed Merah were arrested in southern France.

Twitter sued for $50m for not naming authors of anti-Semitic tweets

Published on March 21, 2013

Twitter is being sued for about $50 million in France for failing to honor a court ruling which ordered it to identify users who posted anti-Semitic hate speech.

Paris thugs threaten Jewish teen with Merah-style murder

Published on March 13, 2013

Three men who accosted a French Jewish teenager in a suburban Paris subway said they would do to him “what Mohammed Merah did.”

Fake bomb found near French Jewish institution

Published on March 12, 2013

Police destroyed a fake explosive device found near a Jewish institution in the French city of Lyon.

Iran, world powers meet in Kazakhstan on Islamic Republic’s nuclear program

Published on February 26, 2013

Iran and six world powers are meeting for talks on Iran's nuclear program.

Iran claims new uranium deposits

Published on February 25, 2013

Iran claimed to have uncovered new deposits of uranium ahead of talks with world powers on its nuclear capacity.

Attack on British soccer fans in France appears to be anti-Semitic

Published on February 21, 2013

Fans of the British soccer team the Tottenham Spurs were targeted in an apparent anti-Semitic attack at a pub in Lyon, France.

Kerry will wait on Israel visit to accompany Obama

Published on February 20, 2013

John Kerry will tour the Middle East during his first foreign tour as U.S. secretary of state, but will visit Israel two weeks later with President Obama.

Report: 58% rise in anti-Semitic attacks in France in 2012

Published on February 19, 2013

France saw an increase of 58 percent in anti-Semitic incidents in 2012 compared to the previous year, according to a report by the French Jewish community.

Two arrested for anti-Semitic incidents near Marseille

Published on February 15, 2013

French police arrested two men in connection with recent anti-Semitic attacks near Marseille.

Jews vocal on both sides of France’s gay marriage debate

Published on February 5, 2013

Wide-eyed and smiley, Elay-Gabriel seems utterly unaffected by the French media’s sudden interest in him.

100 imams to commemorate Holocaust near Paris memorial site

Published on February 4, 2013

Some 100 imams will commemorate the Holocaust at a memorial monument near Paris.

Keep Lebanese terrorist in prison, U.S. lawmakers urge France

Published on January 28, 2013

A bipartisan congressional effort is aiming to keep the former head of the Lebanese Armed Revolutionary Brigade behind bars in France.

Twitter must reveal details of users posting anti-Semitism, French court rules

Published on January 24, 2013

Twitter must divulge details about French users who posted anti-Semitic messages, a French tribunal ruled.

Eveline Leisner, 75

Published on January 23, 2013

Eveline Leisner, a longtime French educator, died on Jan. 5 after living with Alzheimer’s disease for 12 years. She was 75.

‘The Rabbi’s Cat’ got your French tongue

Published on January 23, 2013

At only 41, Joann Sfar has enjoyed a meteoric rise in France, rocketing from cartoonist to filmmaker in short succession.

Hamas forbids local journalists from working with Israeli media

Published on December 26, 2012

The Hamas government in Gaza has forbidden local journalists from working with Israeli media outlets.

Pope praises French rabbi’s essay against gay marriage

Published on December 21, 2012

In his Christmas address to Vatican officials, Pope Benedict reportedly praised an essay by France’s chief rabbi on the negative effects of gay marriage.

Iran talks to resume soon, reports say

Published on December 17, 2012

Iran and the six major world powers it deals with on nuclear issues are preparing for talks, according to multiple reports.

French teens arrested for chemical explosion near teacher who reported anti-Semitism

Published on December 14, 2012

Two French teenagers were arrested on suspicion of setting off an explosion near a teacher after she reported receiving anti-Semitic threats at school.

Couple suspected of aiding Toulouse killer Merah taken into custody

Published on December 4, 2012

A man and a woman in the Toulouse area were arrested on suspicion that they helped Mohammed Merah "commit crimes" that may have included the murder of four Jews.

Israel faces European backlash over settlement plan

Published on December 3, 2012

Israel faced concerted criticism from Europe on Monday over Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's decision to expand settlement building after the United Nations' de facto recognition of Palestinian statehood.

Arafat’s body exhumed to test for poisoning

Published on November 27, 2012

Forensic experts took samples from the body of former Palestinian Authority President Yasser Arafat's uncovered corpse in the West Bank on Tuesday, trying to determine if he was murdered with the hard-to-trace radioactive poison, Polonium.

Two Jewish cemeteries, municipal building vandalized in France

Published on November 26, 2012

French police reportedly are investigating fresh acts of vandalism in two Jewish cemeteries and a municipal building.

In Marseille, one of France’s poorest cities, Jewish charity is booming

Published on November 26, 2012

Standing with dozens of hungry people in a 
breadline, Collette Quidron counts her blessings.

‘La Rafle’ recalls Vichy sins

Published on November 15, 2012

The biblical book of Exodus begins the ominous story of the Israelites’ descent into slavery with the following words: “A new generation arose” in Egypt that did not know Joseph.

French Muslim leaders in Israel hope to mend fences with Jews

Published on November 14, 2012

Standing in long, colorful robes and wearing traditional rounded hats, a group of men stood in reverent silence as one of their leaders placed a memorial wreath at Yad Vashem, Israel’s national Holocaust museum.

Victims’ families demand inquiry into Toulouse murders

Published on November 1, 2012

The families of the victims of Mohammed Merah have called for a parliamentary inquiry into failures that allowed him to murder four Jews and three French soldiers in the Toulouse area.

At Toulouse, French president vows to fight anti-Semitism

Published on November 1, 2012

France will clamp down on anti-Semitic hate speech online and elsewhere, French President Francois Hollande said at a press conference with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Two men attack Jewish schoolboy in Paris

Published on October 24, 2012

Two men hit and threatened a Jewish schoolboy at a Paris bus stop, according to the security unit of France’s Jewish community, SPCJ.

French spy service ‘failed’ to see Merah was dangerous, report finds

Published on October 24, 2012

French security "failed" in assessing the danger posed by Mohammed Merah, the French Interior Ministry said in a report.

‘Dead Jew’ is newest anti-Semitic phrase on French Twitter

Published on October 22, 2012

Hundreds of French Twitter users wrote the phrase “a dead Jew” on Twitter after the company removed some anti-Semitic content.

Belgium’s local elections cause ‘anti-Semitic flood’

Published on October 19, 2012

Belgium’s recent local elections triggered “an unprecedented wave of manifestations of anti-Semitism,” according to the country’s organization of French-speaking Jews.

In France, Marseille Jews look to Paris and worry that their calm may be fleeting

Published on October 17, 2012

At a time when Jewish institutions across France resemble military fortresses for their security, entering the great synagogue and main Jewish center of this picturesque city on the Mediterranean coast is as easy as pushing open the front door.

Israel accuses French diplomat of ‘helping Palestinians rewrite history’

Published on October 15, 2012

Israel’s foreign ministry has accused France’s consul general in Jerusalem of “denying Jewish connection to the Land of Israel.”

‘Good Jew’ hashtag is third most popular on French Twitter

Published on October 15, 2012

Anti-Semitic attacks in France rise 45 percent this year

Published on October 11, 2012

France has seen a 45 percent increase in anti-Semitic attacks reported through August from the corresponding period a year ago.

French police find ‘Jihadist’ bomb lab used in kosher store attack

Published on October 10, 2012

French police have found an explosives lab which they say Jihadists used in the recent bombing of a kosher store near Paris.

French police find ‘Jihadist’ bomb lab used in kosher store attack

Published on October 10, 2012

French police have found an explosives lab which they say Jihadists used in the recent bombing of a kosher store near Paris.

French Jew, American researcher share Nobel Prize in Physics

Published on October 9, 2012

Serge Haroche, a French-Jewish physicist, has won the Nobel Prize in Physics jointly with David Wineland from the United States.

Blank bullets fired near Paris-area synagogue

Published on October 8, 2012

Blank bullets were fired outside a synagogue near Paris.

Israel says Syrian mortar strike was attack on NATO

Published on October 4, 2012

Israel's Deputy Prime Minister Dan Meridor said on Thursday a deadly Syrian mortar strike on a Turkish town had to be considered an attack on a member of the NATO alliance.

French police search home of Toulouse killer’s brother

Published on September 27, 2012

French police searched the home of Abdelkader Merah, the brother of the man who murdered a rabbi and three children at a Toulouse Jewish school.

Marine Le Pen: Wearing kipahs should be banned

Published on September 21, 2012

French right-wing politician Marine Le Pen said she supports a ban on wearing kipahs in public in addition to a ban on Muslim headscarves.

French Jewish communities condemn Muhammad cartoons

Published on September 19, 2012

The president of the representative body of France's Jewish communities has condemned the new publication of caricatures of the Muslim prophet Muhammad.

France opens murder inquiry into Yasser Arafat’s death

Published on August 28, 2012

French prosecutors have opened a murder inquiry into the death of Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat.

Le’Chaim to France

By Nikki Tabibian
Published on August 27, 2012

Report: Toulouse killer had contacts in 20 countries, including Israel

Published on August 27, 2012

Mohammed Merah, the killer of four Jews from Toulouse,reportedly had contacted people in 20 countries including Israel before perpetrating the murders.

French Jewish leaders ‘outraged’ by mosque desecration near Toulouse

Published on August 3, 2012

French Jewish leaders are calling the tossing of two pig heads into a mosque not far from Toulouse "an odious desecration."

French swimmer explains Hebrew tattoo as a family tribute

Published on August 2, 2012

French Olympic swimmer Fabien Gilot said the Hebrew tattoo on his left arm is a tribute to his late grandmother’s husband, a Jewish survivor of Auschwitz.

Jewish life in France: Progress amid ongoing concerns

By Tom Tugend
Published on August 1, 2012

On March 19, Mohamed Merah, 23, attacked the Ozar HaTorah school in Toulouse in southern France, killing three students and a rabbi.

French president blames his country for WWII roundup of Jews

Published on July 23, 2012

The roundup of thousands of Jews in Paris during World War II was a crime "committed in France, by France," French President Francois Hollande said.

Survey finds young Frenchman unfamiliar with WWII Jewish roundup

Published on July 17, 2012

Most young Frenchmen never heard of the World War II roundup of Paris Jews, a survey shows.

Dr. Seuss and the Holocaust in France

Published on July 16, 2012

Seventy years ago this week, 15-year-old Annie Kriegel was sitting in her Paris high school classroom, taking an exam, when her mother suddenly burst into the room and warned her not to come home—the Nazis were preparing to round up and deport any Jews they could get their hands on.