TEL AVIV – Don’t let people know where you’re from and don’t speak Hebrew, an Israeli reporter who was at the scene of Thursday night’s terrorist attack in Nice was warned by a French resident of the city.
Elad Simchayoff, a reporter for Israel’s Channel 2, was interviewing eye witnesses following the Bastille Day terror attack when a woman approached him and said, “You have to be very careful.”
When Simchayoff asked why, the woman, who asked not to be filmed, answered, “Because you are Israeli. It’s very dangerous.”
She told Simchayoff that, unfortunately, Israel continues to be subjected to double standards in Europe.
“When it was the war in Gaza, for example, you had manifestations [i.e. demonstrations] of thousands and thousands of Arabs on the street. … [But] when the war in Syria began as well, and children were killed, [no Arabs demonstrated] on the street. Never,” she said.
The woman told Simchayoff that news reports emerging in the wake of the carnage, which claimed the lives of 84 people and left 200 more wounded, indicate that Israelis know how to protect themselves from attacks while the French are unable to do so.
“There is an atmosphere in Brussels [i.e., the seat of the European Union’s parliament] that you [Israelis] are the worst. This is the problem,” she said. “You should be extra careful because each Arab, he looks at the TV, and you [Israelis] are the most in danger. So be very careful, don’t talk to anybody.”
The vehicular attack was carried out by 31-year-old Mohamed Lahouaiej Bouhlel, a French resident from Tunisia with a criminal and domestic-violence record, but with no history of Islamist fundamentalism. The Islamic State claimed responsibility for the attack. French police have detained seven people for interrogation, including Bouhlel’s ex-wife.