Antisemitism - World news, culture and opinion

Ruth Gruenthal, 103-year-old Holocaust survivor, reclaims her German citizenship

Eighty-six years after being stripped of her citizenship, the American retiree living in New York decided to have it 'restored' out of fear of Donald Trump's authoritarian tendencies.

Published on May 1, 2026, at 6:00 pm (Paris) Elsa Conesa

News

UK police charge man with stabbing attack on two Jewish Londoners

The Metropolitan Police said Essa Suleiman, of Camberwell, south London, had been charged with three counts of attempted murder and one count of possession of a bladed article in a public place.

Published on May 1, 2026, at 9:26 am (Paris), updated on May 1, 2026, at 10:05 am Le Monde with AFP

News

Attack in north London declared a 'terrorist incident' by police after two men stabbed

Police arrested a 45-year-old man on suspicion of attempted murder in after the stabbing in a neighborhood with a large Jewish community. Prime Minister Keir Starmer condemned the attack in Golders Green, calling it 'appalling.'

Published on April 29, 2026, at 3:27 pm (Paris), updated on April 29, 2026, at 8:53 pm Le Monde with AFP

Explainer

Understanding the (suspended) bill against antisemitism in French Parliament

A bill presented by MP Caroline Yadan was supposed to be debated last week in the Assemblée Nationale. But it was pulled from the agenda after a controversy over its content.

Published on April 20, 2026, at 4:00 pm (Paris) Julien Lemaignen

News

UK police arrest two teenagers in arson attack on London synagogue

The London force has been investigating whether this and similar attacks have been instigated by Iranian proxies, as Britain's chief rabbi warned of 'a sustained campaign of violence and intimidation' against Jews in the UK.

Published on April 20, 2026, at 10:47 am (Paris), updated on April 20, 2026, at 10:49 am Le Monde with AFP

News

Starmer vows to find arsonists of London Jewish sites

The British prime minister said in a post on X that he was 'appalled' by the string of recent incidents targeting Jewish sites in northwest London, which has a significant Jewish population.

Published on April 19, 2026, at 5:54 pm (Paris) Le Monde with AFP

News

UK counter-terror police probe arson in Jewish area of London

Police arrested two people over a separate arson attack on a nearby synagogue on Wednesday. Late last month, four Jewish community ambulances were also torched in north London.

Published on April 18, 2026, at 2:34 pm (Paris) Le Monde with AFP

Explainer

What is the controversial bill on antisemitism French MPs are debating?

MP Caroline Yadan has been accused of trying to silence criticism of Israel with her bill, which aims to 'combat new forms of antisemitism.' A petition against the text has gathered over 700,000 signatures.

Published on April 16, 2026, at 5:00 am (Paris), updated on April 16, 2026, at 3:24 pm Lucas Minisini

News

Kanye West postpones Marseille concert after France considers blocking him from performing

The US rapper postponed his concert in Marseille after he was blocked from entering the UK over antisemitic remarks and voicing admiration for Adolf Hitler.

Published on April 15, 2026, at 8:07 am (Paris), updated on April 15, 2026, at 10:02 am Le Monde with AFP

News

French minister seeks to ban Kanye West concert in Marseille over antisemitic remarks

In recent years, the American rapper has lost many fans and several commercial contracts following antisemitic and racist remarks. In early April, British authorities decided not to allow him to enter the United Kingdom.

Published on April 14, 2026, at 1:47 pm (Paris), updated on April 14, 2026, at 2:14 pm Le Monde with AFP

In Depth

Nearly half of French people say they've been victims of racism, survey finds

Exposure to racist violence and discrimination was overwhelmingly reported among visible minorities. Religious affiliation was identified as the second major factor of exposure.

Published on April 9, 2026, at 11:43 am (Paris) Louise Couvelaire

News

UK bans Kanye West from visiting country due to antisemitic rants

The American rapper had submitted an application to travel to Britain on Monday to headline the Wireless Festival, but it was refused on the grounds that his presence would not be conducive to the public good, the BBC cited the Home Office as saying.

Published on April 7, 2026, at 5:23 pm (Paris), updated on April 7, 2026, at 5:57 pm Le Monde with AFP

News

Two men arrested over London arson attack on Jewish ambulances

On Wednesday, British police said two British men had been arrested by counter-terrorism police 'on suspicion of arson with intent to endanger life' after four ambulances parked next to a London synagogue were set on fire on Monday.

Published on March 25, 2026, at 12:23 pm (Paris), updated on March 25, 2026, at 5:44 pm Le Monde with AFP

News

UK police investigate arson attack on four Jewish organization ambulances in London

'The arson attack is being treated as an antisemitic hate crime,' said London's Metropolitan Police, adding that they were 'looking for three suspects.' Prime Minister Keir Starmer said 'antisemitism has no place in our society.'

Published on March 23, 2026, at 9:44 am (Paris) Le Monde with AFP

Interview

Ivan Jablonka, historian: 'The use of last names is a particular trait of antisemitism'

After the controversy sparked by Jean-Luc Mélenchon's mocking remarks about the pronunciation of the names Jeffrey Epstein and Raphaël Glucksmann, the historian revisits the obsession with Jewish names in France.

Published on March 16, 2026, at 12:10 am (Paris) Anne Chemin

News

Two brothers arrested in France over 'deadly and antisemitic' plot, anti-terror prosecutors say

Elyasse H. and Moad H. were arrested in northern France on Tuesday after police discovered a semi-automatic weapon and hydrochloric acid in their car.

Published on March 15, 2026, at 3:56 pm (Paris) Le Monde with AFP

News

Dutch police arrest four men over Rotterdam synagogue fire

Four young men were arrested on Friday on suspicion of setting an explosion outside a synagogue. The incident follows a spate of recent targeted attacks on synagogues in Liege, Belgium, and in Detroit, Michigan.

Published on March 13, 2026, at 9:32 pm (Paris), updated on March 14, 2026, at 10:08 am Le Monde with AFP

News

Belgium vows to fight antisemitism after synagogue blast

A pre-dawn blast on March 9 damaged a synagogue in Liège, eastern Belgium, causing no injuries. Prosecutors in charge of organized crime and terrorism are heading up the investigation.

Published on March 9, 2026, at 12:55 pm (Paris), updated on March 9, 2026, at 12:58 pm Le Monde with AFP

Feature

Paris synagogue celebrates Purim amid concerns over Israel's offensive in Iran

On Monday and Tuesday, Jewish worshippers commemorate the biblical story of Queen Esther's victory over a high-ranking Persian official who threatened her people. The narrative resonates this year as Israel, backed by the US, is attacking the Iranian regime, in a conflict that has reignited fears of a new wave of antisemitism in France.

Published on March 3, 2026, at 6:16 pm (Paris) Sarah Belouezzane

News

Swastikas spray-painted on former Jewish internment camp near Paris

A candidate in the upcoming municipal elections spotted the swastikas on Wednesday while campaigning, before notifying memorial associations, he told Agence France-Presse.

Published on February 26, 2026, at 5:22 pm (Paris), updated on February 26, 2026, at 6:13 pm Le Monde with AFP

News

Belgium summons US ambassador for accusing officials of antisemitism

US diplomat Bill White accused the Antwerp prosecutor's office of antisemitism after it launched an investigation into illegal circumcision practices within the Orthodox Jewish community.

Published on February 18, 2026, at 12:02 pm (Paris) Jean-Pierre Stroobants

News

Macron condemns 'antisemitic hydra' that 'continues to grow'

Twenty years to the day after the premeditated murder of a young Jewish man, the French president delivered a speech on Friday expressing his desire to see the introduction of 'mandatory ineligibility' for elected officials convicted of 'antisemitic, racist and discriminatory acts and remarks.'

Published on February 14, 2026, at 1:28 pm (Paris), updated on February 15, 2026, at 9:04 pm Louise Couvelaire

News

Macron denounces 'antisemitic hydra' and calls for election bans for antisemitic and racist acts

President Emmanuel Macron proposed 'mandatory election bans' for officials convicted of antisemitic or racist acts and remarks, while speaking at a tribute to Ilan Halimi, a Jewish man who was kidnapped and tortured to death in 2006.

Published on February 13, 2026, at 2:28 pm (Paris), updated on February 13, 2026, at 2:33 pm Le Monde with AFP

News

Australian state pushes tough gun laws and implements ban on 'terror symbols'

A week after a father and son targeted a Hanukkah event, killing 15 people – the nation's deadliest mass shooting in almost three decades – the government of the populous New South Wales introduced the country's strictest gun laws, as well as a ban on 'terrorist symbols.'

Published on December 22, 2025, at 5:05 am (Paris), updated on December 22, 2025, at 11:32 am Le Monde with AFP

Feature

French Jewish community worries after Sydney attack: 'We always know that something can happen'

About 100 people gathered at Place de la République on Monday to witness the installation of the Hanukkah menorah and applaud the lighting of the candles for the Festival of Lights. For many, it was also an opportunity to pay tribute to the victims.

Published on December 16, 2025, at 12:34 pm (Paris) Sarah Belouezzane

Op-Ed

'Amid a troubling resurgence of antisemitism, we no longer have the right to hesitate'

Boycotts, withdrawing invitations, erasure of Jewish presence: These forms of exclusion, often presented as respectable, pave the way for the most extreme violence to flourish, warns the philosopher Ayyam Sureau.

Published on December 15, 2025, at 12:55 pm (Paris), updated on December 15, 2025, at 12:55 pm Ayyam Sureau

Editorial

Australia's Bondi Beach terrorist attack: A new antisemitic bloodbath

The obvious antisemitic nature of the Sydney massacre, the deadliest ever recorded in Australia, can only cause consternation in a country that was a refuge for many Jews in the 20th century. It also rekindles fear, anxiety and an unbearable feeling of helplessness and vulnerability.

Published on December 15, 2025, at 11:41 am (Paris), updated on December 15, 2025, at 9:11 pm Le Monde

News

Captain Alfred Dreyfus receives posthumous promotion 130 years after scandal

The former Jewish French army officer who was wrongfully convicted of espionage amid widespread antisemitism in the early 20th century was promoted to brigadier general as an act of reparation.

Published on November 18, 2025, at 2:45 pm (Paris), updated on November 18, 2025, at 2:49 pm Le Monde with AFP

News

Sentences over red hand graffiti on Paris Shoah Memorial handed down in 'unprecedented' trial

Four Bulgarian nationals, one of whom is still at large, received sentences ranging from two to four years in prison amid suspicions of foreign interference. The damage was committed 'because the victim belonged to a particular religion,' according to the Paris Criminal Court.

Published on November 1, 2025, at 12:52 pm (Paris) Benoît Vitkine

News

French court jails four Bulgarians for defacing Paris Holocaust memorial

The four perpetrators were sentenced to between two and four years in prison for their involvement in stencilling red handprints onto the memorial. Prosecutors think Russia was behind it.

Published on October 31, 2025, at 8:29 pm (Paris) Le Monde with AFP

News

Trial over red hand graffiti at Paris Shoah Memorial: 'I did it for the money'

Kiril Milushev has become the face of Russian interference in Europe. The 28-year-old Bulgarian national stands accused of taking part in the acts of vandalism committed in Paris on the night of May 13, 2024.

Published on October 30, 2025, at 11:38 am (Paris) Benoît Vitkine

Column

'By calling those who oppose his policies antisemitic, Netanyahu only stokes the scourge'

The war waged by the Israeli prime minister in Gaza in retaliation for the October 7 terrorist attacks has further unsettled French Jews, who have already been shaken by acts targeting them in their own country, writes Le Monde columnist Philippe Bernard.

Published on October 20, 2025, at 3:29 am (Paris), updated on October 20, 2025, at 11:08 am Philippe Bernard

Your stories

Two years after October 7, many French Jews have chosen silence: 'We're made to feel that we're on the wrong side'

Since the Hamas terrorist attack in Israel, faced with an 'outside world' perceived as hostile or incapable of understanding them, many Jews have chosen to avoid discussing current events and say they are tempted to withdraw from society.

Published on October 7, 2025, at 5:34 pm (Paris), updated on October 8, 2025, at 5:17 pm Louise Couvelaire Benoît Vitkine

News

Palestinian authorities arrest suspect in 1982 Paris antisemitic attack, French prosecutors say

Hicham Harb is suspected of leading the 1982 gun attack on the Jo Goldenberg restaurant that left six people dead.

Published on September 19, 2025, at 12:22 pm (Paris), updated on September 19, 2025, at 2:47 pm Le Monde with AFP

In Depth

What investigators know about destabilization actions in France

Since 2023, the Paris prosecutor's office has opened nine investigations in connection with acts committed on French soil aimed at deepening societal divides over the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and the war in Ukraine.

Published on September 13, 2025, at 7:00 pm (Paris) Christophe Ayad Damien Leloup

News

Brothers arrested over felling of memorial tree to French Jewish murder victim

French investigators said Wednesday that police had detained twin brothers suspected of having cut down an olive tree planted in memory of Ilan Halimi, a French Jewish man tortured to death in 2006.

Published on August 27, 2025, at 8:48 pm (Paris), updated on August 27, 2025, at 9:06 pm Le Monde with AFP

News

Man sentenced to eight months in jail for tagging 'Free Palestine' on Jewish tourists' cars

The defendant, who said he wanted to send a message about the war in Gaza, explained that he considered the victims, some of whom were British nationals, 'indirectly responsible' for the conflict.

Published on August 26, 2025, at 11:49 am (Paris), updated on August 26, 2025, at 1:02 pm Fanny Hardy

News

US backs ambassador to France in antisemitism row

The US State Department said Monday it stood by the comments of Charles Kushner, the US ambassador to France, who was summoned after accusing France of not doing enough to combat a rise in antisemitism.

Published on August 25, 2025, at 7:35 pm (Paris), updated on August 25, 2025, at 8:43 pm Le Monde with AFP

News

French leisure park manager charged with discrimination after refusing entry to Israeli group

The 52-year-old man denied the accusations.

Published on August 25, 2025, at 10:30 am (Paris), updated on August 25, 2025, at 10:52 am Benoît Vitkine

News

French park manager charged for turning away Israeli kids

The manager of the park in the Pyrénées was charged with discrimination for turning away a group of 150 Israeli children earlier this week.

Published on August 24, 2025, at 9:57 am (Paris), updated on August 24, 2025, at 2:48 pm Le Monde with AFP

Editorial

Netanyahu's manipulation of antisemitism is unworthy

By pushing the idea that Jews around the world identify with his far-right policies, it is the Israeli prime minister himself who is fueling antisemitism, in France and elsewhere.

Published on August 21, 2025, at 12:23 pm (Paris) Le Monde

News

Macron vows to punish 'hatred' after olive tree honoring Jewish victim is cut down

The olive tree was planted in memory of Ilan Halimi, a 23-year-old who was kidnapped and tortured to death in 2006. The Paris police chief announced the launch of an investigation.

Published on August 15, 2025, at 1:59 pm (Paris), updated on August 15, 2025, at 5:18 pm Le Monde with AFP

News

Gaza student leaves France over anti-Semitic posts row

The young woman had been due to join Sciences Po Lille in the fall, before posts calling for the killing of Jews were discovered on her social media accounts. She left for Qatar on Sunday.

Published on August 3, 2025, at 7:16 pm (Paris) Le Monde with AFP

News

Macron declares July 12 annual Dreyfus commemoration day

The French president declared on Saturday that from now on, there would be a commemoration ceremony every year for Alfred Dreyfus, a French army captain wrongly convicted of treason in 1894 amid an anti-Semitic press campaign.

Published on July 12, 2025, at 2:30 pm (Paris) Le Monde with AFP

Feature

Since October 7, more Jewish families in the Paris region 'want to move to a place they perceive as safer'

The rise in anti-Semitism has accelerated the ongoing shift in where Jews live in Paris and its suburbs, home to about half of France's estimated 500,000 Jews.

Published on July 4, 2025, at 10:38 am (Paris) Benoît Vitkine

News

UK PM condemns 'death to the IDF' chants at Glastonbury Festival

British punk-rap group Bob Vylan led crowds to chant, 'Death, death to the IDF,' a reference to the acronym for the Israeli military, during their set on Saturday at the world-famous UK music festival. The Israeli embassy said in a statement that it was 'deeply disturbed by the inflammatory and hateful rhetoric expressed on stage.'

Published on June 30, 2025, at 2:24 am (Paris), updated on June 30, 2025, at 1:06 pm Le Monde with AFP

Op-Ed

'Being Jewish in France today means being alone'

Senior civil servant Paul Bernard shares the struggles faced by French Jews, a community to which he belongs, in an op-ed. In particular, he attempts to explain the confusion between Israel and its government, which he says does not mean 'endorsing, even through silence, the way it is conducting the war.'

Published on June 28, 2025, at 4:43 pm (Paris) Paul Bernard

Op-Ed

'Alfred Dreyfus, a synthesis of the martyr and the just man, deserves to enter the Panthéon'

For a long time, the officer-turned-general was seen as a mere victim. Yet recent works have offered a new reading of this historic figure. Aline Girard, Pierre Ouzoulias and Jean-Pierre Sakoun make the case for Dreyfus to enter the Panthéon.

Published on June 22, 2025, at 5:30 am (Paris) Aline Girard Pierre Ouzoulias Jean-Pierre Sakoun

In Depth

Tolerance holding up in France despite hate speech, report on racism finds

After a turbulent 2023 marked by the consequences of the terrorist attacks by Hamas, French people's acceptance of others again increased in 2024, according to the National Consultative Commission on Human Rights' annual study. But prejudice persists.

Published on June 19, 2025, at 5:00 am (Paris), updated on June 19, 2025, at 5:10 am Louise Couvelaire

News

French court jails two teenagers over 2024 Jewish girl rape

The court sentenced two teenagers, aged 13 at the time of the crime, to nine and seven years in prison. The presiding judge said the 12-year-old girl would 'not have been raped if she had not been Jewish.'

Published on June 14, 2025, at 11:10 am (Paris), updated on June 17, 2025, at 9:35 am Le Monde with AFP

News

US government threatens to strip Columbia University's accreditation

US Education Secretary Linda McMahon alleges that Columbia ignored the harassment of its Jewish students: 'This is not only immoral, but also unlawful.'

Published on June 4, 2025, at 11:56 pm (Paris), updated on June 5, 2025, at 10:13 am Le Monde with AFP

News

French lawmakers unanimously back posthumous promotion for Captain Alfred Dreyfus

The Assemblée Nationale unanimously approved the legislation on Monday, 130 years after the Jewish French army captain was wrongly convicted of treason.

Published on June 2, 2025, at 6:33 pm (Paris), updated on June 2, 2025, at 9:05 pm Le Monde with AFP

In Depth

Captain Alfred Dreyfus is up for posthumous promotion

French lawmakers are voting to raise the army officer to the rank he could have aspired to had he not spent years in detention after being wrongfully convicted of espionage amid widespread antisemitism.

Published on June 2, 2025, at 11:10 am (Paris), updated on June 2, 2025, at 11:32 am Robin Richardot

News

Suspect posed as a gardener in Boulder attack and planned to kill all in group he called 'Zionist'

The suspect, identified by the FBI as 45-year-old Mohamed Sabry Soliman, yelled 'Free Palestine' during the attack on the group of demonstrators.

Published on June 2, 2025, at 2:49 am (Paris), updated on June 3, 2025, at 1:07 am Le Monde with AP

News

Paris: Holocaust memorial and three synagogues targeted by green paint overnight

The police reported damage to four locations in the 4th arrondissement, with no messages or claims of responsibility found. 'We will press charges,' said Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo in a statement released to the press.

Published on May 31, 2025, at 3:00 pm (Paris), updated on May 31, 2025, at 6:03 pm Le Monde with AFP

News

French MPs want to promote wrongly convicted Captain Dreyfus, 130 years on

Lawmakers have proposed a bill to promote Alfred Dreyfus, a Jewish French army captain whose 1894 conviction of treason rocked French society. The MPs say France is still fighting against antisemitism today.

Published on May 6, 2025, at 3:27 pm (Paris), updated on June 2, 2025, at 10:49 am Le Monde with AFP

In Depth

After the attack on its rabbi, the 'peaceful' Jewish community of Orléans reckons with 'hatred'

Over a thousand people marched in silence in Orléans on Tuesday in support of Arié Engelberg. He was attacked in the street in front of his son on Saturday by a young man who is due to stand trial at the end of April.

Published on March 26, 2025, at 11:05 am (Paris), updated on May 26, 2025, at 4:22 pm Benoît Vitkine

In Depth

Nazi salutes and anti-Semitism under investigation at French universities

Since January 30, there have been five notable incidents of anti-Semitism at French universities, including Nazi salutes. Three investigations are underway in different places.

Published on March 5, 2025, at 5:38 pm (Paris), updated on May 26, 2025, at 4:23 pm Dounia Dimou

Op-Ed

Volker Türk on antisemitism: 'Europeans know how far hate speech and discrimination can lead'

Faced with the resurgence of antisemitism in Europe and around the world, particularly since October 7, the United Nations will continue to do everything in its power to remind all peoples of the lessons of the Shoah, promises UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk.

Published on December 31, 2024, at 9:31 am (Paris), updated on May 26, 2025, at 4:23 pm Volker Türk

Column

'Uniting the fights against racism and anti-Semitism is essential to countering their manipulation'

In a country like France, home to Europe's largest Jewish and Arab communities, tying the former to Benjamin Netanyahu's policies and the latter to Hamas's is not only wrong but terribly dangerous, writes Le Monde's Philippe Bernard in his column.

Published on November 24, 2024, at 6:30 pm (Paris), updated on May 26, 2025, at 4:24 pm Philippe Bernard