Le Figaro: Jewish community’s fear ‘palpable’

French newspaper Le Figaro reported earlier Saturday on the “palpable” fear in the Jewish community following Friday’s attack at a kosher grocery store — only the latest in a string of anti-Semitic attacks in recent years.

Moshe Lewin, an advisor to France’s Chief Rabbi Haim Korsia, tells Le Figaro that French authorities owe the Jewish community explanations on the measures being taken to guarantee its security.

“If the means being used are not sufficient, the efforts of the chief rabbi to convince French Jews not to leave the country will be in vain,” he notes.

One young rabbi who refused to be identified tells the paper he does not know whether he will reopen his synagogue.

“It’s not even panic, it’s worse,” he says. “The people of the community do not dare leave their homes.”

“We are shocked,” says Parisian rabbi Chaim Schneour Niesenbaum. “All the values of the West are under attack.”

However, Niesenbaum insists that the community will not allow the terrorists a victory. “We will not change our lifestyles,” he says.