Teenager in France sentenced to 16 months in prison for attacking rabbi
Moroccan 16-year-old, who arrived in France less than a year ago, ‘expressed no remorse’ during closed-door trial in juvenile court, say Jewish leaders in Orléans
ORLÉANS, France — A teenager who attacked a rabbi in a central French city was sentenced to 16 months in prison by the juvenile court on Wednesday, after a long day of hearings in which he denied responsibility.
The attack took place last month as Rabbi Arie Engelberg was walking with his nine-year-old son from a synagogue in Orleans, about 110 kilometers (about 70 miles) south of Paris.
After the teenager was arrested, he told investigators that he was Palestinian, but later said during a hearing that he was Moroccan and 16 years old.
According to his lawyer, the teenager arrived less than a year ago in France, where he has no family.
On Wednesday, he was given a 12-month sentence for the attack, as well as additional time in prison for other cases, including refusing to undergo police testing while in custody and possession of illegal narcotics after being found with two grams of cannabis resin.
He was ordered to remain in detention, Orleans public prosecutor Emmanuelle Bochenek-Puren told AFP, adding that the teenager was also banned for five years from the Loiret district where the assault occurred.
WATCH: Rabbi Aryeh Engelberg, 45, the chief rabbi of Orléans (France) being violently attacked in front of his son while walking home from synagogue on Saturday afternoon. pic.twitter.com/WwItizbH2q
— Hen Mazzig (@HenMazzig) March 23, 2025
“We have encountered a person who has denied any responsibility,” said the rabbi’s lawyer, Isabelle Abreu, criticizing the minor’s attitude of “denying everything” after several hours of a closed-door trial.
Accompanying Engelberg to the hearing was Andre Druon, president of the Jewish community of Orleans, who said the attacker “blamed everything on the rabbi” during the hearing.
“The attacker expressed no form of regret or compassion,” Druon said after the hearing.
“I have a community and a family to take care of, we have no choice but to move forward, and we do so with our heads held high,” Engelberg said, recalling that he had “defended himself” against his attacker.
‘A right not to be attacked’
Describing the incident to BFM television, Engelberg said that his attacker had asked if he was Jewish, and that, “I said yes.”
“He started saying ‘all Jews are sons of…,” he said, adding that he wanted to film him with his phone as he hurled insults.
“I decided to act and I pushed his telephone away,” the rabbi said. His attacker then “started punching and I protected myself.”
As he arrived in court on Wednesday, Engelberg said that a “strong response” from the judiciary was needed.
“In a democracy like France you have a right to not be attacked,” he said.
Two days after the assault, more than 1,000 people marched in Orleans in support of the rabbi.
Antisemitic hate crimes have surged worldwide since the Hamas terror group’s October 7, 2023 attack on Israel started the ongoing war in Gaza.
Last year, France registered 1,570 antisemitic acts in France, according to interior ministry figures.
France is home to the largest Jewish population outside Israel and the United States, as well as the largest Muslim community in the European Union.
The Times of Israel Community.