Jewish organisations in France suspect a possible antisemitic motive in the killing of a 44-year-old Jewish man in a town just outside of Paris, allegedly by a Muslim man wielding an axe.
Jewish man Liyahou Haddad was killed on August 19th at his home in Longperrier, a town just north of Paris in the Seine-et-Marne department and is said to have been killed with an axe.
Just a day after the killing, a 21-year-old illegal immigrant turned himself in at a police station in the Paris ‘no-go’ suburb of Seine-Saint-Denis, admitting that he had killed Haddad and had buried his body, which was then later found by police officers, the newspaper Le Figaro reports.
The suspect in the case was identified by the Times of Israel newspaper as 24-year-old Mohammed Dridi, citing sources at the BNVCA National Bureau for Vigilance against Anti-Semitism. The BNVCA claimed the two men had lived in the same home and that the alleged killer had first claimed the murder was due to a 100 euro debt, but later said he killed Haddad because he was Jewish.
The Meaux prosecutor’s office, meanwhile, has denied any antisemitic motive in the case with deputy prosecutor Hervé Tétier stating, “At the opening of the judicial investigation there was no element highlighting an [anti-Semitic motivation]. The investigation is in progress, if elements were reported, it would be taken into account.”
Other French groups have also called into question a possible antisemitic motive for the attack as the alleged killer had posted a photograph on his social media profile of a man burning an Israeli flag.
President of the Representative Council of Jewish Institutions of France (Crif) Yonathan Arfi called for more investigation into a possible antisemitic motive saying, “We hope for information quickly and ask that all avenues be explored at this stage, including the possibility of the aggravating factor of anti-Semitism.”
The incident comes just months after another Jewish man was killed in the Paris suburb of Bobigny. He was hit by a tram while trying to flee a mob of around ten people who were violently attacking him. initially, The case was deemed to be an accident before video footage emerged showing the mob chasing and beating the 31-year-old moments before his death.
Populist National Rally leader and former presidential candidate Marine Le Pen commented on the case at the time saying, “It’s not an accident just look at the video. This is obviously a criminal act,” and called on the French parliament to investigate.
Antisemitism continues to be a major cause of concern for Jews in France and a survey of twelve European countries released in June of this year revealed that French Jews were the most likely to fear for their own safety.