SAJBD condemns the recent wave of antisemitic attacks in France and the United States

The South African Jewish Board of Deputies condemns the recent wave of antisemitic attacks in France and the United States, which have violently targeted Jewish communities over the past week.

France has witnessed a number of concerning incidents that have struck at the heart of Jewish life. From May 31 to June 1, 2025, vandals defaced a Holocaust memorial, three synagogues in Paris’s Marais district, and a Jewish restaurant with swastikas and hateful graffiti in a coordinated overnight assault. In Conflans-Sainte-Honorine, an individual attempted to set fire to a synagogue by targeting an Israeli flag, while in Deauville, a rabbi was brutally assaulted in broad daylight, subjected to antisemitic slurs before the attack.

In Boulder Colorado, a peaceful Jewish community walk advocating for Israeli hostages was violently disrupted by an assailant wielding Molotov cocktails and a makeshift flamethrower. The assault resulted in the injuries of twelve people, including a Holocaust survivor. This attack comes after the May 21, 2025, murder of two Israeli Embassy staff members, Yaron Lischinsky and Sarah Lynn Milgrim, who were shot and killed outside the Capital Jewish Museum in Washington, D.C. Such acts of violence against Jewish gatherings are not mere political statements; they are deliberate antisemitic hate crimes aimed at terrorizing and marginalizing Jewish communities.

The disproportionate targeting of Jewish communities is starkly evident. Antisemitic incidents account for 60% of hate crimes in France where Jews make up less than 1% of the population. Likewise in the USA where Jews only account for 2% of the population, they are subjected to 68% of religiously motivated hate crimes.

Since the escalation of tensions following October 7, 2023, these attacks have surged, with Jewish community centres, synagogues, and events singled out. These are not political installations and as such their being targeted is a clear antisemitic assault that seeks to stigmatize, isolate, and exclude Jews, desecrating their places of worship and remembrance.

The SAJBD stands in solidarity and support with our fellow communities across the globe. We urgently call on governments, law enforcement and civil society to take immediate action against the scourge of antisemitism and all forms of hate crime. Jewish communities have a right to celebrate and commemorate events in their synagogues, community centres, schools and other venues in safety, peace and security.