(JNS) A man armed with a knife and metal bar was shot and killed by police after attempting to set fire to a synagogue in Rouen, France, on Friday morning—an industrial city on the Seine River perhaps best known for its cathedral painted so often by Impressionist Claude Monet.
French media reported: the attacker of the Rouen synagogue is an Algerian migrant under OQTF
The OQTF (obligation de quitter le territoire français) is the French administrative removal procedure, replacing the former reconduite à la frontière, and not to be confused with expulsion, which is the deportation measure, typically based on grounds of public order and criminality
The incident drew the attention of law enforcement after smoke was seen rising from the building, allegedly from an item meant to ignite it.
It caused some damage to the synagogue, though no one was hurt, according to news reports. Red handprints related to the cause of Palestinians in the Gaza Strip were found on the walls surrounding the shul, where worshippers will head this weekend for Shabbat services.
🔴 L’assaillant de la synagogue de Rouen est un migrant algérien sous OQTF. L’écrasante majorité des auteurs d’actes antisémites depuis le 7 octobre sont des Français ou étrangers issus du monde arabo musulman. L’immigration massive (et LFI) menace les juifs de France. pic.twitter.com/zu8ZILOJVW
— Amaury Brelet (@AmauryBrelet) May 17, 2024
Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin posted on X that the armed individual was “neutralized.”
“In Rouen, national police officers neutralized early this morning an armed individual clearly wanting to set fire to the city’s synagogue. I congratulate them for their reactivity and their courage,” he said.
France has seen a spate of antisemitic incidents since Oct. 7 and the Hamas terrorist attacks in southern Israel. Even before then, its Jewish population was on alert throughout the country, particularly in Paris.
A study by the American Jewish Committee released in May showed that younger French people are more likely to hold antisemitic beliefs, and French Jews under 25 years old are more likely to be the target of antisemitic incidents.
