Palestinian Flags Fly Over France’s Riots as Jews Fear Attacks
Israel's ambassador to France, Joshua Zarka, says Palestinian flags at Paris riots are a revolutionary symbol, while French Jews face rising attacks. Protesters have called for more demonstrations this weekend after weeks of unrest and thousands of arrests.
Palestinian flags have flown over France's riots in Paris, and Israel's ambassador to France, Joshua Zarka, says the country's Jewish community is paying the price. Calls have gone out for more protests this weekend.
More than half a million people have rioted in recent weeks, according to reporting from Paris. Thousands have been arrested, and a historic city hall has been burned to the ground. The French government blames the far left.
The unrest reached the Place de la Bastille in early October. Crowds climbed the column there, covered it in anti-government slogans and waved Palestinian flags. Workers are still cleaning it up after the riots, which began on Oct. 8.
The column is not a statue but a tomb, holding the bodies of 500 Parisians who died fighting for freedoms, the report said.
Ambassador: flag is a revolutionary symbol
Zarka, who was born in Paris, says the flags have little to do with the Middle East.
"The Palestinian flag has become the flag of the revolutionaries, like the face of Che Guevara at some point was used by young revolutionaries," he said. "The Palestinian flag is used by people that want to be part of a revolution, regardless of what it represents really."
A Paris resident identified as Karla blamed extreme groups. "These are very extreme far-left groups that are justifying, you know, these riots, and they're saying that violence is legitimate," she said.
Attacks on Jews
Zarka said the antisemitism he knew growing up was something people were ashamed of. "It was a racial thing coming from the extreme right," he said. "Today it's linked to political issues and linked to the extreme left of the spectrum."
Last year, more than half of all anti-religious attacks in France targeted Jews, according to figures cited in the report. Two-thirds of those were aimed at people, not property. Physical assaults have tripled since 2022.
During the October riots, protesters ransacked a synagogue in northeast Paris and threw its prayer books on the floor.
Zarka said many Jews now hide their identity in parts of the city. "They will not wear the yarmulke openly outside in every part of Paris," he said. "Some have been attacked."
France has about half a million Jews, the largest Jewish community in the world outside Israel and the United States. Many are considering leaving, the ambassador said.
"The question among Jews today is not if to make Aliyah, but when and under what circumstances," Zarka said. Aliyah is the term for emigrating to Israel.
The riots show no sign of stopping, and France chooses a new president next spring. "They feel that they are constantly under attack," Zarka said of French Jews.
