Corinne Adler knows it well: her agenda for the next few weeks will be particularly busy. This midwife, with an already busy schedule, plans to go “every day or almost” to the specially composed assize court. From this Monday and for three weeks, Hassan Diab, the main suspect in the attack on rue Copernic, is on trial there. On October 3, 1980, four people were killed and about forty others injured by a bomb planted in front of the synagogue. Corinne Adler, then a teenager, was inside. For 20 minutesshe remembers this day marked with a red iron in her memory.
What memories do you have of the attack?
I remember everything very precisely. That day, I celebrated my bat-mitzvah, it’s the equivalent for girls of the bar-mitzvah. We were five in this case, two girls, three boys. Usually, we are never so many but there, it was after the holidays, we had been grouped together. It was a very happy moment, the culmination of two or three years of preparation, the entry into adult life. There were my friends from college, all my family. Even my grandparents had traveled from Israel. In the middle of the office, we heard a huge explosion. I remember very well, it was at the time of the Amidah, a fairly calm prayer. Then the canopy collapsed on top of us.
Did you quickly understand what was happening?
I think I immediately understand that a bomb has just exploded. In my mind as a 13-year-old girl, I am convinced that this explosion will be followed by a shooting. I then try to hide behind the stage but in the end nothing happens and I come out. The rabbi wanted to continue the office, he told us to calm down but it was impossible. I’m a little scratched, my dress is torn but I’m fine. The other girl who was with me on the platform, she received a stone on the head. I go quickly to see my family: no one is hurt.
My grandfather then slipped to my father: “For an attack, I didn’t need to come to France. »
What consequences did this attack have on your life?
It’s hard to say. For example, I became a midwife, is it because I needed to be on the side of life? What is certain is that after this attack, I very quickly needed to not let myself be defeated and to get involved in the community. I continued to go to services, I was part of a group of young people who provided security for the synagogue. I developed a fierce will to fight against injustice and racism. But this attack left its mark: even today, I can’t stand the sound of a firecracker or even a balloon exploding. I can’t go out on the street on July 14, for example.
What do you expect from this trial?
I’m just waiting to understand. This man, Hassan Diab, does he have a share of responsibility in this attack? If yes which one ? If not, then leave him alone. On the contrary, if this is the case, justice must pass. I hope we can come to an idea. In any case, it is very important that there is a trial. Because even if it was 42 years ago, it existed. Four people died, families and lives were impacted.
The main defendant will probably not be in the box. How do you live it?
Deep down, I get it. If I was in his place, I’m not sure I would come! He was in France between 2014 and 2018, the trial should have been held at that time, it comes too late, that’s for sure, but that’s the way it is. I hope we will get some answers anyway.