Jewish community centre burned in France

Arsonists burned a Jewish community centre in eastern Paris before dawn yesterday, leaving behind red graffiti with menacing anti-Semitic messages such as “Jews get out”, police said.

No one was hurt as flames tore through the centre located on the first floor of a six-story building.

The centre, a meeting place and cafeteria for the elderly and disadvantaged, was gutted, rescue officials said.

Prime Minister Jean-Pierre Raffarin and other top officials visited the centre, the latest target in a years-long wave of anti-Jewish attacks in France.

“I came here today to say that France cannot accept a trivialisation of anti-Semitism,” the prime minister said.

Raffarin noted that the maximum sentence for such crimes is 20 years behind bars.

“Prosecutors will request the maximum sentences,” he promised.

In a statement, President Jacques Chirac condemned the attack and pledged solidarity with the Jewish community.

The government is “determined to find the perpetrators of this unacceptable act so that they can be tried and convicted with the greatest severity” that the law allows, Chirac said.

Firefighters were called to the scene at about 3.30am local time and had extinguished the flames by early morning. The centre’s wooden doors were damaged by flames, while the walls inside were blackened. The apartments upstairs were not affected.

Authorities immediately suspected the fire was set deliberately. Inside the building, investigators found anti-Semitic graffiti and swastikas scrawled in red marker. One message read: “Without the Jews, the world is happy”.

Visiting the site, rabbi Claude Zaffran said he was ”deeply pained and distraught”.

“We’re very worried,” he said. “I have the impression I’m seeing the same movie with the same script. Beyond the declarations and speeches, there must be strong actions to end the string of anti-Semitic acts.”

Serge Benaim, a local Jewish community leader, also expressed frustration.

“It happens over and over again, every day now someone lashes out at Jews,” he said. “We haven’t resolved the problem.”

France has suffered a long wave of anti-Semitic violence since 2000, coinciding with worsening tensions in the Middle East between Israel and the Palestinians.

Some of the violence has been blamed on young French Muslims, although the Muslim community itself is also a frequent target of racist attacks. France has the largest Jewish and Muslim communities in Europe.

The government has already made efforts to tackle anti-Semitism. In December, it announced a wide-ranging campaign that includes encouraging French schools to lead class trips to Auschwitz and punishment for anti-Jewish remarks in the media.

Extra security at Jewish places of worship and schools and tough sanctions against anyone found guilty of anti-Semitic acts is also part of the policy. Sunday’s fire was discovered by police assigned to patrol outside a nearby synagogue.

Paris Mayor Bertrand Delanoe and Paris Police Chief Jean-Paul Proust also visited the charred centre, on a winding street lined with shops.

Proust noted that the fire could have been deadly.

“I have mobilised the best of my police officers,” Proust said. “We will find those responsible. Sooner or later, they will be caught.”