French judge drops hate crime charges against Arab gang in Jewish teen’s assault

NICE, France — A French judge drops hate crime charges against Arab teenagers who allegedly assaulted a Jewish teenager outside a synagogue near Paris, a watchdog group says.

The National Bureau for Vigilance Against Anti-Semitism, or BNVCA, protested in a Tuesday statement the omission from the indictment of the suspects in the February 28 assault in Montmagny.

Jewish groups, including CRIF and BNVCA, have praised the French authorities efforts to protect Jews, but also criticized the judiciary’s perceived failure to address the aggravated element of hate crimes in several cases of violence against Jews.

In the Montmagny assault, the alleged attackers, aged 14 and 15, called the Jewish boy, his sister and brother “dirty Jews” at the park where they were playing, Le Parisien reported, based on police sources. According to BNVCA, all four suspects are of Arab descent. The boy said the assailants beat him with a stick and took away his kippah, which he was wearing when they approached him.

BNVCA says it was “dismayed” by the judge’s decision, which the group says runs “totally contrary” to the law.

— JTA