The demonstration scheduled for Saturday July 19th was banned. Unless I am mistaken, France is the only country that took this step. The organizers appealed, their appeal was rejected. So what did they do? Stay home and write op-eds? Send pizzas to the harassed citizens of Gaza? No, they proudly and publicly declared they would demonstrate anyway. Loudly proclaiming their democratic right to march, they trampled on the duty incumbent on law-abiding citizens. This time the stampede didn’t get far past its starting point in Barbès.
Riot police hemmed them in [they are complaining about police brutality]. They weren’t rounded up and sent to jail for breaking the law. So they showed their appreciation by going wild, tearing up the asphalt and throwing chunks at the police; injuring 15. They set fire to cars, garbage cans, wooden pallets, and Israeli flags, smashed whatever was in reach, wreaked havoc for hours on end. And there were no Jewish Defense League boys to blame it on.
An informative article in Le Point describes the assault on the Lariboisoière Hospital. The security guards were outnumbered [disproportionate force?], ran for cover. An elderly man shouted at the mob, “Are you crazy, that’s a hospital.” “It’s a Zionist hospital,” they shouted.
But didn’t burn it down…this time around. Today, they did a repeat performance in Sarcelles, known as little Jerusalem because a large contingent of the Sephardic Jews chased from the Maghreb settled there in public housing. For which they were grateful. From which many moved on to successful careers. And those who still live in neat and clean Sarcelles are constantly harassed by their Muslim neighbors in Gonesse.
Many Jewish men have been attacked at the train station that serves the side by side Again, riot police were locked in battle for five hours while residents hunkered down in their homes.
How is the government going to deal with this flagrant and ever more violent disrespect? What will be the consequences for the New Anti-Capitalist Party, the NPA, the extreme radical far left anti-capitalist party that got about 1% of the vote in the last municipal elections, and suddenly appears as an organizer of these stampedes? In 2005 the insurrection was almost exclusively confined to the banlieues, on the other side of the péripherique [ring road].
This time it penetrates to the center of Paris and it is fired with murderous hatred of Jews. Many who fled the Maghreb say it reminds them of those times. Some observers are saying this looks like the early stages of “pogroms” but I think the appropriate term would be “farhud.” [“ violent dispossession” in Arabic, a reference to the 1941 Nazi–inspired jihad pogrom in Baghdad].
Read article in full
Paris feels like Tunis all over again
Number of French Jews emigrating rises sharply (NY Times)
the French govt made a terrible mistake today by authorizing a similar "demo" [= riot] for Wednesday. This will only encourage the rioters because they will think that they got the permission precisely by being violent in Paris on Saturday & Sarcelles on Sunday. And as Nidra said, the demo on Saturday was not authorized. The police are not arresting the ringleaders, as they should. Since this so-called "anti-capitalist" party [= fascist party] openly called for demonstrating despite the ban, its leaders ought to be arrested.
ReplyDeleteI understand that the socialist party is divided. Some may be sympathetic to Jews, like Hollande & PM Valls. But others are very pro-Arab like one Pascal Boniface. In any event, the govt is encouraging further law-breaking of all sorts in many areas of life because of this giving in to rioters. France is heading for ruin.