An act of vandalism which arouses indignation. Tags representing “red hands” were sprayed Monday evening on the “Wall of the Righteous” outside the Holocaust memorial in Paris, the president of the Representative Council of Jewish Institutions of France (Crif) was outraged on Tuesday. Yonathan Arfi.
“Whatever the perpetrators, this degradation of the Holocaust memorial, symbol of the bloody hands of the terrorists who lynched two Israeli soldiers in October 2000, resonates like a hateful rallying cry against the Jews,” wrote Yonathan Arfi in a message posted on the social network
Anne Hidalgo refers the matter to the public prosecutor
The mayor of Paris Center Ariel Weil also expressed his indignation on the social network: “The very day of the anniversary of this event which foreshadows the Vel’d’Hiv roundup where many children will be arrested before being exterminated, the walls of the Marais in front of nurseries and schools were defiled, even the Wall of the Righteous, who saved Jews at the risk of their lives. “.
Anne Hidalgo referred the matter to the public prosecutor, “in accordance with the provisions of article 40 of the Penal Code”, informed the Paris City Hall. The mayor also requested that a police report be carried out before cleaning the building, which was underway at the end of the morning. “Last night, the Wall of the Righteous at the Shoah memorial was vandalized. I condemn with the greatest firmness these unspeakable acts,” communicated Anne Hidalgo.
A controversial symbol
The symbol of red hands, previously used by students blocking Science Po in support of Palestine, is controversial. It is interpreted as a macabre reference to the events of October 12, 2000, when two Israeli reservist soldiers were beaten to death in a police station in the Palestinian administrative capital, at the start of the second intifada.
The Wall of the Righteous, located in the alley adjoining the Memorial, bears the names of more than 3,900 men and women who, at the risk of their lives, contributed to the rescue of Jews in France during the war, recalls the Memorial on its website.