French Rabbi Attacked in Antisemitic Hate Crime

French President Emmanuel Macron condemned the “poison of antisemitism” after the chief rabbi of Orléans, Rabbi Arié Engelberg, was violently attacked while walking with his 9-year-old son on Shabbos. Authorities are treating the incident as an antisemitic hate crime.

The attack occurred around 1:30 p.m. when a 16-year-old man with reportedly Palestinian roots approached the rabbi, hurled antisemitic insults, and began filming him. When Rabbi Engelberg asked him to leave, the assailant physically assaulted him, striking him on the head and biting his shoulder before fleeing the scene.

The incident was caught on security footage and the suspect was identified and arrested later that evening. French Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin confirmed the arrest, stating that the suspect was subsequently placed in a psychiatric facility.

Following the attack, Macron expressed his solidarity with Rabbi Engelberg and the Jewish community, writing on social media: “The attack on Rabbi Arié Engelberg in Orléans shocks us all. I offer him, his son, and all our fellow citizens of the Jewish faith my full support and that of the nation … We will not give in to silence or inaction.”

Darmanin also condemned the assault, calling it an “antisemitic attack of the greatest severity.” He added, “France cannot allow itself to become a stage for foreign tensions that fuel violence and antisemitism.”

Elie Korchia, president of the Jewish Consistory of France, described the attack as an “exceptional act of violence” in a city that is “usually relatively quiet.” He reported that Rabbi Engelberg is physically unharmed but is still in shock.

France, home to 500,000 Jews, has seen a dramatic rise in antisemitic incidents in recent years, including many assaults. The crimes account for 65% of all religion-based hate crimes, despite Jews making up 1% of the population.