French judge summons Jewish family over scuffle

JTA — Members of a French Jewish family were ordered to appear before a judge investigating their brawl with six men who shouted neo-Nazi insults outside the family’s home near Paris.

The melee took place on June 16 in the suburb of Seine et Marne, 20 miles east of the French capital, according to a report by the SPCJ security unit of the French Jewish community.

All six men were arrested and questioned, and two of them were remanded to custody for one day before being released and ordered to report, along with the Jewish family, to a judge in January. The judge will investigate the circumstances of the altercation. SPCJ said it appointed a lawyer to represent the family in court.

In the course of the fight, one of the non-Jews produced a metal rod which he used to hit members of the family, including two young women who were hospitalized for several days after the attack, SPCJ reported Friday. One of the women had a broken wrist.

The violence began after one member of the family asked a motorist to drive within the speed limit in the residential area outside the family’s home. According to SPCJ, the driver had driven in circles around the family’s home. The driver went away and returned with five of his friends, who had “a European appearance.”

The men did Nazi salutes outside the family’s home and shouted slogans including: “Heil Hitler, we’ll burn you all;” “Time to finish what began in 1940” and: “Dirty Jews, we’ll burn you inside your car,” according to SPCJ.

The SPCJ report said a number of neighbors witnessed the event.