France’s Jewish community has faced a troubling surge in antisemitic incidents and anti-Israel sentiment since the Hamas-led invasion of and massacre across southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023.By Ailin Vilches Arguello, The AlgemeinerFrench authorities have opened an investigation after a Jewish teenager was physically assaulted and subjected to antisemitic slurs while leaving a synagogue last week — among the latest in a surge of anti-Jewish hate crimes that has shaken France’s Jewish community since the start of the war in Gaza.On Tuesday, the Lyon prosecutor’s office announced it had opened an investigation for “aggravated violence against a minor on religious grounds” following a complaint filed by the father of a Jewish teenager who was brutally assaulted while leaving a synagogue last Friday.According to the complaint, the 14-year-old boy was “insulted with antisemitic remarks” and then beaten as he left the place of worship.An unidentified man approached the victim, who was walking alone, and asked if he smoked. When the boy replied “no,” the man allegedly began hurling antisemitic insults before kicking him in the hip.“Antisemitism is a poison that has no place in our republic,” Fabienne Buccio, prefect of the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region, said in a post on social media, adding that “state services are combating it with determination.”The Representative Council of Jewish Institutions of France (CRIF), the main representative body of French Jews, also condemned the attack and warned of an “unprecedented wave of antisemitic acts” in Lyon and its surrounding region, expressing concern over a “poisoned atmosphere.”This latest antisemitic incident comes amid growing international scrutiny of the French government over the rising tide of antisemitism in the country and its efforts to safeguard the local Jewish community.On Monday, the French Foreign Ministry summoned US Ambassador Charles Kushner after he accused Paris of failing to act decisively against the rising antisemitism targeting France’s Jewish community.In a letter to French President Emmanuel Macron, Kushner voiced his “deep concern over the dramatic rise of antisemitism in France” and criticized the French government for its “lack of sufficient action” to confront it.However, French authorities rejected such claims as “unacceptable” and warned that Kushner’s letter violated international law.Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar criticized France’s decision to summon Kushner, calling the move the “height of hypocrisy.”“Instead of addressing the issue of the rising antisemitism in France in a substantive manner — France preaches against ‘interference in the internal affairs of states.’ The height of hypocrisy!” the top Israeli diplomat said in a post on X.Earlier this month, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also criticized Macron’s efforts to protect the French Jewish community, demanding stronger government action against the surge in hate crimes.“Your call for a Palestinian state pours fuel on this antisemitic fire,” Netanyahu wrote in his letter, referring to Macron’s recent announcement that France will recognize a Palestinian state at the UN General Assembly next month.“It is not diplomacy, it is appeasement. It rewards Hamas terror, hardens Hamas’s refusal to free the hostages, emboldens those who menace French Jews,” the Israeli leader continued.However, Macron strongly rejected these claims, insisting that the fight against antisemitism should not be “weaponized.”“Protecting France’s Jewish citizens from the rise in antisemitism has been an absolute priority of mine from day one,” Macron wrote in a letter to Netanyahu.“The fight must not be the subject of manipulation amid a conflict in the Middle East that affects France’s national cohesion and the security of its citizens,” he continued.France’s Jewish community has faced a troubling surge in antisemitic incidents and anti-Israel sentiment since the Hamas-led invasion of and massacre across southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023.Jewish leaders have consistently called on authorities to take swift action against the rising wave of targeted attacks and anti-Jewish hate crimes they continue to face.According to the French Interior Ministry, 646 antisemitic incidents were recorded from January to June this year — a drop from the previous year’s first-half record high but a 112.5 percent increase compared with the same period in 2023, when 304 incidents were reported.The post Jewish teen assaulted in Lyon as France faces growing international scrutiny over rising antisemitism appeared first on World Israel News.