France: 8-year-old Jewish girl harassed and taunted by Muslim classmates (update)

JSS News claims that the Rhône Alpes section of the CRIF (an umbrella organization of French Jewish organizations) where the incident occurred tried to hush up the case asking the victim's father not to speak out so as not to bring harm to the Education ministry, the teachers and the school head.  The incident looks much more serious than previously reported.  According to JSS News the little girl's younger sister was also protected by Catholic classmates.  Six adults in the school ignored the child's complaints.  The sisters are afraid to go back to school.  The parents of the perpetrators stood by their sons and did not apologise for their behaviour.  The CRIF did not deny JSS's account and indicated it was cooperating with the police investigation.  In short, everybody is afraid.

Algemeiner

A young Jewish girl in France was harassed and verbally abused by two Muslim schoolmates late last week, France’s RTL radio reported on Saturday. 

The incident took place at the Joseph Sibuet elementary school in Mions near Lyons, and the traumatized child now refuses to return to classes. 

The girl’s father, Matthieu Zerbib, told French journalist Jonathan-Simon Sellem that the 8-year-old was approached by two boys who asked about her religion at the school’s canteen and explained, “Islam is at war against the Jews, no?” 

“She went to see six different adults in the school including a teacher and a woman that worked in the kitchen,” according to Sellem. “She asked for help and nobody wanted to help her.” Later, in the school’s playground, the instigators prompted others to taunt the victim about her Jewishness and even tried to beat her. The violence was prevented when, after the young girl ran away, two Christian students at the school intervened and hid her in the playground. The girls also located the victim’s younger sister and hid her safely away as well. 

According to the French-Jewish blog JSS News, the perpetrators, aged between 9 and 10 and their parents likely won’t face any sanctions besides possible expulsion from the learning institution. The victim’s parents have complained to school officials and the BNVCA, France’s National Bureau of Vigilance Against Antisemitism, which is headed in Lyon by Zerbib, has asked the mayor of Mions to investigate the affair.