A Paris memorial honoring people who distinguished themselves by helping to rescue Jews in France during the country's Nazi occupation during the Second World War was defaced Tuesday, May 14, with painted blood-red hands.
The attack on the Wall of the Righteous, at the Shoah Memorial, comes in the context of tensions and anger in France over the Israel-Hamas war. Antisemitic acts have surged in the country with the largest Jewish and Muslim populations in western Europe.
Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo said the memorial was vandalized overnight Monday to Tuesday. She described the vandalism as "unspeakable" and said she has filed a complaint with the Paris prosecutor. "No cause can justify such degradations that dirty the memory of the victims of the Shoah and of the Righteous who saved Jews at risk to their lives," Hidalgo said in a statement.
The head of the Representative Council of French Jewish Institutions, Yonathan Arfi, said: "No matter who the perpetrators are, this degradation of the Shoah Memorial, the symbol of the bloody hands of the terrorists who lynched two Israeli soldiers in October 2000, resonates like a hateful rallying cry against Jews."
The wall bears the names of more than 3,900 people recognized as having risked their lives to help save Jews in France.