Jewish Soccer Players in France Beaten in Organized Assault

Members of a Jewish amateur soccer team have been attacked in the first organized anti-Semitic assault since Israel’s offensive against Palestinians in the West Bank triggered a sharp rise in attacks on Jewish sites in France.

About 15 hooded attackers wielding sticks and metal bars beat up several members of the soccer team during a training session late Wednesday in Bondy, a racially mixed suburb northeast of Paris.

A 15-year-old goalkeeper, who was severely beaten, said members of the gang shouted racial insults.

“This marks a turning in anti-Semitic acts which seems to be more serious because it wasn’t a chance encounter,” said Patrick Gaubert, head of the anti-racist group LICRA.

President Jacques Chirac has condemned the violence, which has ranged from vandalism to graffiti to Molotov cocktail strikes.

Police have stepped up patrols at potential targets, including synagogues, schools and community centers, but in most cases they have failed to catch the assailants.

Though most of the attacks remain unsolved, many in France, including Muslim leaders, accept a link with the mounting violence in the Middle East. But Muslim representatives said it would be wrong to put all the blame on members of their community.

The Union of Islamic Organizations of France this week condemned the acts of violence.