The French media reported this Tuesday that three young men between 12 and 14 years old were arrested for allegedly raping a 12-year-old girl, motivated by antisemitism. According to the complaint filed by the minor and her parents, her ex-boyfriend became angry when he discovered that the girl had hidden from him that she was Jewish.

According to the French newspaper Le Parisian, the minor and her parents filed the complaint at a police station in the Hauts of the Seine district, which covers the western suburbs of Paris, where the girl claimed she was raped in an abandoned building last weekend.

According to suspicions, the three young men beat the minor, insulted her for being Jewish, and then raped her.

The young woman underwent a medical examination, which confirmed that she was indeed raped.

According to Le Parisien, investigators found antisemitic comments and images, including a burned Israeli flag, on one of the suspects' cell phones. In addition, one of the alleged attackers said that the minor spoke out against the Palestinians.

The French newspaper Le Figaro noted that the suspects called the girl a "dirty Jew" and filmed her. The media added that one of them even brought her a lighter and threatened to set her on fire.

The three minors are suspected of having committed the crimes of rape with aggravated circumstances, sexual assault with aggravating circumstances and death threats. Additionally, media outlets in France reported that at least one of them confessed to committing the act.

Descendants of immigrants from Islamic countries perpetrate many antisemitic attacks

The event occurs in the context of growing antisemitism in France due mainly to the hostility towards Jews on the part of a large number of members of the Muslim community in the country, composed mainly of immigrants or descendants of immigrants from nations in the north of Africa.

According to a report published in May by the Israeli media Yediot Ahronot and Ynet and the French newspaper Le Parisien, 44% of Jews in the country hide their Jewish identity in public, and 80% believe the police and the judicial system do not adequately care for them.

According to the report, 61% of French Jews have been victims of at least one antisemitic act because they were considered "responsible or guilty of the policies of the Israeli Government."

The report adds that a quarter of French Jews have been victims of an antisemitic incident since October 7, and 73% of them have suffered threats and harassment on social media.

The report also maintains that 66% of the Muslim population living in France is antisemitic. It adds that more than 50% of all young Muslims think that Jews control the media and politics.

According to a report from the Israeli Ministry of the Diaspora published in January of this year, in France, there was a 430% increase in applications to emigrate to the Jewish State after the October 7 massacre due to the rise in antisemitic acts in the country. Some of these incidents include the stabbing of a Jewish woman, attacks on children in the streets, the burning of doors of Jewish homes, and the graffiti of Stars of David on the front of houses where members of this community live in Paris and its suburbs.

The report adds that a large part of antisemitic attacks are perpetrated by people belonging to the second and third generations of immigrants from Islamic countries who were born and educated in France. Antisemitism is also greatly influenced by the social polarization in France between the right and the left, as well as by the growing cooperation between radical Islamists and far-left elements.

Marine Le Pen condemned the attack

Marine Le Pen, leader of the National Rally party, condemned the incident on X. "The anti-Semitic attack and the rape of a 12-year-old girl in Hauts-de-Seine disgust us," she said.

The political leader also expressed her concern about the increase in hate crimes against the Jewish community within the country. "The explosion of anti-Semitic acts, up 300% in the first three months of 2023, should alert all French people. The stigmatization of Jews by the extreme left through the instrumentalization of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict poses a real threat to civil peace." She added that "everyone should be fully aware of this on June 30 and July 7," referring to the upcoming legislative elections in France.