Jewish cemetery targeted in France again

Vandals painted about 60 tombstones with anti-Semitic graffiti in Lyon overnight, the third time a Jewish cemetery has been vandalised in France this year.

Swastikas and inscriptions were painted on headstones in de la Mouche cemetery in the southern French city, the same burial site that was desecrated by skinheads in 1992.

Richard Wertenschlag, Lyon’s chief rabbi, told France Info radio that the vandalism was an affront to the Jewish community and to France’s values.

“How is it that after the Holocaust, someone can still attack Jews – even those who are dead – for the simple reason that they are Jews?” he said.

The vandalised graves were at the back of the cemetery, far from the guardian’s house, and among its oldest tombs. A monument to Jewish Second World War soldiers was also covered with graffiti, France Info said.

Despite a series of government measures, anti-Semitic attacks have increased in recent years in France, frequently coinciding with rising tensions between Israelis and Palestinians.

A recent report by the French Interior Ministry found 510 anti-Jewish acts or threats in the first six months of the year, compared with 593 for all of 2003.