Since Hamas attacked Israel in early October, anti-Semitic acts have increased in France. On networks, in the form of tags, and sometimes even during physical attacks. In this deplorable series, Paris and several Parisian suburbs woke up at the end of October to discover hundreds of Star of David stencils painted on walls in blue. Gérald Darmanin immediately denounced these “stars of David which we have unfortunately seen blooming on some homes of people, particularly from the Jewish community”. But at this stage of the open judicial investigation, nothing demonstrates the anti-Semitic nature of the act.
The Paris prosecutor’s investigation quickly led to the arrest of two suspects, a couple of Moldovan nationals, aged 30 and 34, who have since been expelled from the territory. Surprised by a local resident painting “a blue star with a stencil” in the 10th arrondissement on October 17, the suspects were quickly arrested. Spontaneously, the couple admitted to having acted at the “request of a third party”, explained the prosecution, adding that a conversation “in Russian” found on the phone of one of them attested to their declaration. Another couple had been spotted thanks to video surveillance during a trip to Seine-Saint-Denis and Hauts-de-Seine, during which they painted numerous Stars of David, again in blue and with a stencil. This couple fled the territory, but telephone investigations allowed the prosecution to establish that they had been in contact with the same sponsor as the arrested couple.
“Stupid” accusations according to Moscow
The term “Russian” having been mentioned, the hypothesis of an attempt at destabilization led by Moscow quickly emerged, particularly in the press. “We know that the third party is established abroad, but there is nothing to confirm at this stage that it is in Russia,” assures 20 minutes the Paris prosecutor’s office. “Russian is the second language used in Moldova, so it is not illogical that the telephone exchange took place in this language,” he adds. This Thursday, the spokesperson for Russian diplomacy, Maria Zakharova, refuted any involvement from Moscow, denouncing “stupid” accusations of “absolute nonsense” and “unworthy”.
If it has not been established that these are anti-Semitic tags or manipulation by the Russians, a third hypothesis is circulating on the networks. It is carried by Ismaël Boudjekada, a municipal elected official from the town of Grand-Charmont, in Doubs. He claims to have infiltrated a since-closed WhatsApp group called “IDF Will Conquer,” made up of 450 members, all fervent supporters of Israel. According to the elected official, with supporting screenshots, a member of this group suggested “flooding businesses, buildings, with magen David [étoiles de David] everywhere” in reaction to anti-Semitic tags. This same member wrote that it was necessary to “pay taggers if necessary”. This message on “IDF will conquer” would date from October 30, i.e. after the first round of tags that the Paris prosecutor’s office attributes to the fleeing couple. “The members of the group reacted to these tags by calling for others to be ordered later,” assures 20 minutes Ismaël Boudjekada, adding that the “desire of the members of this group was also to ride this supposedly anti-Semitic wave”. He claims to have transmitted all the information he collected to the courts.
Tags in a new form
Does the hypothesis of tags made in support of Israel hold water? “I am surprised to receive this type of question. Because for me, there is no doubt about the anti-Semitic nature of this act,” says Guy Bensoussan, President of the ACI association responsible for the Lille synagogue. However, the very nature of these tags, made with a blue stencil, is intriguing. Starting with the Paris prosecutor’s office, which notes that the tagged motif is a “blue Star of David, similar to that appearing on the flag of Israel”. This same source also qualifies the remarks of the Minister of the Interior, affirming that “these stencils were marked on facades, in a manner clearly indifferent to what the buildings housed”.
Contacted by 20 minutes, Licra admits to a heated reaction: “These tags were discovered in a very strong context of anti-Semitic acts, and our first instinct was to react”. With hindsight, she recognizes that this form of tags is “something unprecedented”, anti-Semitic inscriptions being more generally swastikas or stars accompanied by insults or threats. Same observation on the side of Jewish Community Protection Service (SPCJ), where we recognize with 20 minutes that, “in this form of stencils and this color, it is a first”. In any case, for Licra, “if these tags were made in support of Israel, it did not work”. On the other hand, the organization believes that “if the thesis of Russian interference is verified, the maneuver was rather effective”.