Jewish man mobbed outside Marseille for wearing Jewish symbol

[oberliner]

Source: JTA

A young Jewish man reportedly was lynched and mugged outside Marseille’s main train station for wearing a Star of David pendant.

According to La Provence, a local daily, the 20-year-old man was approached by two men on a scooter on Feb. 4 at 3:30 P.M. outside Saint-Charles, a busy train station and shopping mall.

One of the men on the scooter tore the golden chain off the victim’s neck, called him a “dirty Jew” and fled the scene on the scooter with the pendant in hand.

A group of young men standing by the victim then approached him, hurled anti-Semitic insults at him and looked through his belonging for other things to steal. According to Metro, another daily paper, they also hit the victim. They took away an MP3 player and 100 euros.

Read more: http://www.jta.org/news/article/2013/02/06/3118881/jewish-man-mobbed-outside-marseille-for-wearing-jewish-symbol

[bif]

1. They "lynched" him?

[oberliner]

2. Sounds like it

Lynching does not necessarily mean hanging (though it often does).

To punish (a person) without legal process or authority, especially by hanging, for a perceived offense or as an act of bigotry.

http://www.thefreedictionary.com/Lynch

[Dismalindistress]

90. 2nd definition, from the very same dictionary

lynch [lɪntʃ]
vb
(Law) (tr) (of a mob) to punish (a person) for some supposed offence by hanging without a trial

probably after Charles Lynch (1736-96), Virginia justice of the peace, who presided over extralegal trials of Tories during the American War of Independence

lyncher n
lynching n

[oberliner]

91. Yes that is definitely one of the definitions of that word

Though, obviously not the one being used here.

[Dismalindistress]

94. Still,

it's the only definition I've ever heard. Maybe I need to get out more.

[oberliner]

95. I think you make a fair point

That word choice was a bit over the top.

[michigandem58]

4. Yeah, that's a little dramatic

Not endorsing racist assholes hurling insults and stealing things, but come on.

[leftynyc]

12. THAT's what you got out of this story?

THAT's the only thing you think is important in this? Sometimes this place just has me shaking my head.

[AAO]

17. Me too!

[AAO]

15. They lynched him and THEN they beat him up! They must have been pissed!

[Ken Burch]

61. Yeah, they did. Why are you minimizing this? n/t.

[RedstDem]

3. Why is this news?

some guy got mugged by racist ass wipes. So what, happens every day.

[iandhr]

5. I guess the point is that there is rising anti-semtic sentiment.

"France has seen a 45 percent increase in anti-Semitic incidents in the eight months since March 2012"

[apnu]

6. Bingo! we have a winner.

I've been tracking the rise of the right and "nationalistic" movements in Europe for a decade now. The fascists are on the rise there and Europe is just letting them get away with it. I believe, in our lifetime we are going to see a major movement over there.

[naaman fletcher]

8. eh..

it's true that fascists are on the rise, but I think in this case it was muslims, as opposed to the white supremacist kind of fascist.

[apnu]

32. Classic facism of the European kind is on the rise.

The National Front has won several elections in France over the years and they've taken over whole towns. The conservatives in France turn a blind eye to it as it gives them allies in their anti-muslim rants. I've also seen them gaining more noise and tolerance in the UK and Italy also. Only Germany seems to smack that stuff down hard, but then they are constitutionally bound to do so. That is until someone comes along and changes the German constitution.

It is true that muslim extremists are on the rise in Europe adding friction to this building fire. I don't call them fascists because their brand of bigotry and exclusivism doesn't quite fit the fascist mold, so I think they are something else, something I don't have a word for. I've always found it darkly amusing that the global conflict burning right now is largely a Western conservative vs Muslim conservative thing.

[Posteritatis]

62. Don't forget things like the Golden Dawn

They're pretty much straight up unreconstructed fascists instead of the new generation.

[Posteritatis]

60. Is that based on anything other than "I think"? (nt)

[naaman fletcher]

67. Just a lot of knowledge about europe

and what does on there.

The big problem in France, but PARTICULARLY Marseille when it comes to this sort of thing is muslims.

If this had happened in, say, Hungary or Austria I would have guessed white supremecists.

[Ken Burch]

63. Nothing in the link identified the perpetrators as Muslim.

And there's no reason you should be trying to let the European white supremacists off the hook. The fact that those people bash Muslims doesn't mean they're now on the side of Jews. They want a Judenrein Europe just as much as they want a Muslimrein Europe.

No one on the far right in Europe will ever be an ally in the fight against antisemitism-it's delusional to think otherwise.

[R. Daneel Olivaw]

9. Racism, bigotry of any kind and the violence that goes with it is not to be tolerated.

Ever.

Consider yourself being attacked for your religion or ancestry.

[sadalien]

10. Story is being milked for political reasons.

[leftynyc]

13. Milked? By who? (n/t)

[oberliner]

20. I share your surprise at some of the reactions to this story

Very strange.

[leftynyc]

26. Only, I'm not surprised

Not surprised at all.

[oberliner]

29. Your displeasure, I should say

Would that you were surprised.

[baldguy]

34. Ask yourself: Would that media outlet have the same coverage if a Muslim had been attacked?

And would the story get worldwide exposure?

[independentpiney]

39. If he had been called 'dirty muslim' - some media outlet would have

But not that one. And when reported on DU the responses would have been markedly different.

[oberliner]

43. No, not that one

I would imagine it would be covered on a Muslim news site rather than a Jewish one.

Also, I don't see this story getting much exposure worldwide at all.

[MADem]

77. "That media outlet" covers stories of interest to the Jewish people.

You apparently didn't even click on the link, otherwise you might have noticed the logo that says JTA (which stands for Jewish Telegraphic Agency) and beneath it, "The Global News Service of the Jewish People."

I'll bet they don't cover a lot of Eskimo news, either....

Since Jews live all over the world, and this agency prepares news of interest to Jews, I'd wager that the story gets "worldwide exposure" to that audience--just as Islamo-specific news outlets cater to Muslim audiences... all around the world.

[Posteritatis]

53. I only wish the reactions surprised me. (nt)

[olegramps]

46. A Jew is beaten by a pack of mongrels and the story is being milked.

[sadalien]

47. So, they weren't humans?

Careful, it's a slippery slope when you dehumanize people.

[Kurska]

54. Anyone who would do that is disgusting scum and I hope they get what is coming to them.

Is that good enough for you?

[sadalien]

58. Really?

What's "coming to them"? Death you think muggers should be put down?

[Kurska]

66. I suppose I'll educate you about this, as you seem incredibly confused

http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/get_what%27s_coming_to_one

"To experience the consequences of one's action."

http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/get+what's+coming+to+one

"Receive what one deserves or is due, especially something unpleasant, such as a punishment or rebuke. For example, When they suspended Steve for cheating, he was only getting what was coming to him."

I fail to see anything about death, in there.

I hope they are put in jail for a very long time. I certainly wouldn't be heart broken if someone worse were to happen to them, as they attacked an innocent man for no reason besides who his parents were and how he worships.

You're welcome, my friend, next time try to look up the meaning of idioms yourself as not everyone is as kind as I am.

[LanternWaste]

65. It's also a slippery slope when a person alleges that some unknown force

It's also a slippery slope when a person alleges that some unknown force is "milking" the story with zero evidence presented.

That type of tactic certainly reminds me of the old Stab In The Back theory anti-Semites used after the Great War.

[olegramps]

104. The slippery slope is any attempt to mitigate their evilness. Enjoy your stay.

[Kelvin Mace]

11. The fact that you don't see this as particularly newsworthy

is alarming in and of itself. It means that racist acts of violence are now so common place as to be unremarkable.

[RedstDem]

24. The victim was mugged, and called bad things as they took off

how many people today will experience the same fate in new york city?
they may or not be called a derogatory name during the mugging, but I bet little to nothing will be in the paper the next day.

the only reason any of this is posted is because it can be filed under "Jew victimized"
would it be news if the person was Latino? and called a dirty wetback? i don't think so..

so to me it's just another mugging, and if something happens every day, it doesn't really qualify as "news"..

[Kelvin Mace]

35. When race is mentioned by the attacker

it is an issue.

Would he have been mugged if he had not been displaying a Star of David?

Also, I believe all violence against people is "news"

[RedstDem]

36. woops, thought being jewish was a religion

didn't realize it's it's own race as well, my bad.....

[Kelvin Mace]

45. My error

I meant to religion not race.

I deepest regrets for the mistake.

[oberliner]

48. You really didn't know that?

There are lots of Jewish atheists incidentally.

[JI7]

84. and buddhists

[oberliner]

93. Good point

I know one of those (though many more Jewish atheists).

[Ken Burch]

72. Not necessarily a race, but a series of clear ethnicities and cultures.

A person can be Jewish without being religious...if that weren't the case, Hitler would have spared all the Jewish athiests, rather than sending them to the camps in the same numbers he sent the observant.

[marybourg]

38. It looks as though the entire history

of racist behavior against Jews, culminating with the Holocaust, and later European and American measures to prevent recurrences, have completely gone over your head.

[kestrel91316]

40. In blue states we care about our fellow humans when they are subjected to

racist hate crimes.

I guess you feel differently in your red state, eh?

[Mass]

7. Obviously it is terrible, but a lot of people assume these are fascists.

Last edited Wed Feb 6, 2013, 12:29 PM - Edit history (2)

While there are anti semitic people in France just like there are in this country, the vast majority of these acts are performed by Muslims teens and young men. This does not excuse it, but this could give some context to this story, particularly in Marseilles which has a large Muslim and Jewish population.

Editing as it came out wrong.

[leftynyc]

14. How lovely of you

to conflate what happens in France with what happens in Israel. I bet you also are really, really careful about distinguishing between anti-semitism and anit-zionism.

[leftynyc]

18. Is that supposed to mean something? (n/t)

[Nye Bevan]

21. There is some utterly disgusting anti-Semitism on display in this thread.

Last edited Wed Feb 6, 2013, 12:33 PM - Edit history (2)

Even after the self-deletes.

"Come on", "why is this news?", "happens every day", "eh", "story is being milked", "just another mugging", "doesn't really qualify as news", etc.

This was a horrible attack, all the more so given what happened to European Jews in the 1930s and 1940s.

[Bluenorthwest]

22. Could not agree with you more. Disgusting.

nt

[leftynyc]

27. Are you surprised by this?

I'm not.

[Nye Bevan]

28. No, I guess not.

But I still hate to see posts on a progressive website that would make Joseph Goebbels nod approvingly.

[leftynyc]

30. Me too

I wish I were surprised by this but I've been here much too long for that.

[RedstDem]

37. selective news stories

turn mole hills to mountains and the ignore the rest.....gets old.

[Nye Bevan]

41. Father Charles Coughlin springs to mind

for some reason.

[RedstDem]

44. the reason being, is we disagree, would be my guess

I'm no good at politically correct speech, so I'm just going back to watching cat video's.

[David Zephyr]

49. Well said. Sadly, so true.

Thanks for your post, Nye Bevan!

[Posteritatis]

52. Yep. I can imagine the howls of fury if the ethnicities were swapped, too. (nt)

[Behind the Aegis]

55. Some are already howling about it and the other groups weren't even the victims.

[Posteritatis]

56. Guh, seriously?

"How dare that bastard break my fist with his face!"

[David Zephyr]

79. Stop "milking" it.

I can't believe some of the shit in this thread. "Milking" it?

You, by the way, rock!!!!

[suffragette]

75. Absolutely agree with you, Nye.

It's appalling and disturbing to see some of the comments on this thread.

[sadalien]

81. Godwin

[Posteritatis]

101. What, people referencing fascist attacks in the context of fascist attacks?

Imagine.

[Behind the Aegis]

102. He's dead, Jim!

[Purplehazed]

25. Indifference?

Some of the responses are disturbing.

Would there be the same "so what" attitude and rationalization if the the victim was wearing a rainbow flag, wearing a hoodie, or a mini skirt? I think not.

[SkyDaddy7]

31. It is almost becoming the new fad...

to be as anti-Semitic as one can...You Tube is crawling with this type of scum.

[aquart]

33. Good ol' traditional Europe.

On edit: Sorry not to be shocked but European bigotry and anti-Semitism is far more honored tradition than dirty little secret. They didn't get this crap from the internet. They learned it from Mommy and Daddy.

[Nye Bevan]

42. I wonder how many of them privately believe that the Nazis were right.

They can't say it openly, obviously, but incidents like this make me wonder.

[David Zephyr]

50. K&R.

Thanks for your post and thread. K&R.

[abq e streeter]

51. This thread and some of the replies, inspired my 1st ever OP in the DU Jewish group today...

To the effect of being sickened but not the least bit surprised . "A Jew got beat up for being a Jew? So what ?" etc.
It's good to know that I'm not the only one who is appalled and disgusted at the open, even if always denied, anti-Semitism among too many in the left in general, and on DU specifically that is considered acceptable, even, apparently, by the admins of this site.

[SpartanDem]

57. There sure is a lot of indifference for a hate crime

[Ken Burch]

59. Disturbing, but not shocking.

Marseilles was a strong supporter of Marshal Petain's Vichy French(pro-Hitler collaborationist) regime during World War II and continues to be a major base of support for the fascist and antisemitic(as well as anti-Muslim)National Front party.

[moobu2]

64. Need another source for confirmation

A news service dedicated to telling the Jewish story might be a little biased.

[MADem]

78. The "other source" is listed right in the article. Here, I've googled it for you:

If you've had a year or two of French, you can read this. If it's still a mystery to you, find a language translator and go for it--it is the original source, and the original source is NOT a "Jewish news agency."

http://www.laprovence.com/actu/faits-divers-en-direct/un-homme-victime-dune-agression-a-caractere-antisemite

Un homme victime d'une agression à caractère antisémite

Un jeune homme de 20 ans qui venait de quitter la gare Saint-Charles, cet après-midi aux environs de 15h30, a été abordé par plusieurs individu qui l'ont frappé et dépouillé, en proférant des insultes à caractères antisémite. Le garçon a d'abord été abordé par un individu descendu d'un scooter qui a arraché son collier en or. En apercevant la croix de David sur le bijou, le voleur aurait d'abord crié "sale juif", avant de s'enfuir. En entendant ces propos, un deuxième groupe se serait alors approché de la victime en l'insultant à nouveau, en le molestant et en dérobant son lecteur MP3,ainsi que 100 euros. Le parquet a retenu l'agression à caractère antisémite et la Sûreté départementale est saisie de l'enquête.

http://www.laprovence.com/actu/faits-divers-en-direct/agression-antisemite-enquete-tous-azimuts

Agression antisémite : enquête tous azimuts

A Marseille, au lendemain de l'agression d'un garçon de 20 ans de confession juive, à la sortie de la gare Saint-Charles (1er), sur fond d'insultes antisémites (lire notre édition d'hier), les enquêteurs de la Sûreté départementale poursuivent leurs investigations et tentent d'identifier les suspects.

Le lieu de l'agression ne permettrait pas d'exploiter des bandes de vidéoprotection. En revanche, les fonctionnaires tentent d'isoler des éléments techniques et de police scientifique permettant de retrouver la trace des agresseurs. Deux groupes distincts ont agi successivement. Le premier dérobant un collier en or, le deuxième réussissant à arracher un lecteur MP3 et une somme d'argent.

Hier, la communauté juive a tenu à réagir à cette agression, via le Crif, le Consistoire et le Fonds social, en dénonçant "les insultes antisémites et les violences des coups qui font qu'aujourd'hui la communauté veut crier haut et fort : stop à l'antisémitisme..."

De son côté, Eugène Caselli, le président de la Communauté urbaine, a "assuré de son soutien la victime et sa famille" et a exprimé sa "profonde indignation" et sa "colère face à cet acte intolérable de violence raciste."

[cbayer]

68. IIRC, there is a large open air Arab market next to the train station.

I inadvertently walked into it and immediately felt that, as a woman, I was not welcome there at all.

Marseille is a port and there are areas that are not very, shall we say, welcoming.

[Ken Burch]

69. That still doesn't prove that this was the work of Arabs or Muslims.

It's disturbing that anyone would want to let the white Christian antisemites of Marseilles off of the hook so quickly.

Marseilles is the strongest base of support in all of France for the National Front party...so it's folly to assume that Muslims are the main enemy of Jews in that city.

No one on the far-right in Europe is a friend of Jews or an ally in the continuing fight against antisemitism. The ones who claim to be "pro-Israel" only claim that because they want the Jews remaining in Europe to move TO Israel(thus completing the project of Hitler and Torquemada). They will all go after the Jews again as soon as they've driven the Muslims out.

Beware.

[cbayer]

70. Of course it doesn't and i never claimed that it did.

I was just recalling that the area around the station felt unfriendly and even unsafe for a number of reasons.

[Ken Burch]

71. OK...the claim that it was Muslims was made upthread, and without proof.

I'm glad you aren't claiming that. It's important to be careful about who's to blame for this.

[cbayer]

73. I understand that and meant no offense or to imply that any conclusions should be drawn.

[Ken Burch]

74. We're good then.

n/t.

[bunnies]

76. My friend was robbed right down the street from my house for wearing a yankees hat.

They ripped his grandfathers gold chain right off his neck & stole his phone before beating him up. The cops didnt give a shit and nobody cared about what happened at all. I wonder if they'd used a racial slur instead of "fucking yankee lover", maybe it'd been national news. Haters are everywhere.

[Ken Burch]

80. Really? By YOU that's the same thing?

Come back when somebody turns Yankee fans into lampshades.

[bunnies]

85. Thats not at all what I said.

But of course you know that.

[Ken Burch]

96. You implied that being attacked for wearing a Jewish symbol was no different

than being attacked for wearing a Yankees cap.

What I was pointing out is that Yankees fans are not historic victims of pogroms and genocide.

Do you now understand the difference, and do you now realize how insensitive your implied comparison was?

[moobu2]

99. The thieves snatched the Jewish guys gold chain before they

allegedly said anything anti-semitic - so they didn't attack the guy because he was a Jew, that is unless the guy had some special clothing on like maybe a yarmulke or whatever. It looks like the motivation for the attack was theft to me.

[Nye Bevan]

82. Because that interlocking NY is like the modern-day Star of David.

The cringeworthy cluelessness just burns.

[bunnies]

88. Nope. I understand perfectly.

Violence against one person means more than violence against another. Makes perfect sense.

[oberliner]

83. This post goes a long way towards understanding your other ones

Last edited Thu Feb 7, 2013, 10:21 AM - Edit history (1)

I hope it stands.

[bunnies]

86. other ones?

Oh do tell.

[oberliner]

87. Anyone who cares can search your posts (or mine)

And see how (and if) your and my responses to this particular incident relate to our other posts on other topics.

[bunnies]

89. alrighty then.

Thats what I thought.

[oberliner]

92. Cool

Think you picked the wrong smiley though

[leftynyc]

97. This whole thread

is making me nauseous. Supposed progressives downplaying a hate crime because the victim was Jewish. People who probably pat themselves on the back for their tolerance. Thank you for posting it but holy shit.

[oberliner]

98. Posting it = milking it

To some, apparently.

[Posteritatis]

100. And not just downplaying it casually, either

Actively trying, indeed striving, to dismiss it in most of the responses.

I know there's a "bigotry is okay if it's the Jews (and occasionally the Roma)" problem on DU but it's distressing to see it so out-in-the-open.

[leftynyc]

103. As I said upthread

I wish I were surprised. And this comes from self described liberals. They have no idea what that word means.

[Sunlei]

105. I don't think these kind of thieves will pass up any gold chain,MP3 player and cash.