A 74-year-old individual of Jewish descent has admitted to his involvement in spray-painting antisemitic messages on a kosher restaurant located in a Parisian suburb.
The upscale shopfront in Levallois-Perret was defaced earlier this week with graffiti bearing the derogatory phrases "Jew" and "Jewish thief."
Initially, the authorities apprehended an individual captured on the establishment's security cameras, marking the first arrest. In response, Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin expressed his dismay over the "intolerable" antisemitic markings via a Twitter post, praising the police for their prompt action in apprehending the "alleged perpetrator."
Subsequently, the first suspect was released due to insufficient evidence, leading to the subsequent detention of the 74-year-old Jewish man as a prime suspect.
During the time of the incident, political leaders across the ideological spectrum united in their condemnation of the "attack." The leader of the Socialist party emphasized the disconcerting nature of singling out a Jewish business owner, highlighting the temporal and geographic context: "This is not 1930s Germany; it is Levallois in 2023. Vigilance against antisemitism remains imperative."
Following the act of vandalism, various conjectures surfaced, attributing the incident to far-right extremist factions. Others criticized the far left for potentially fostering a form of "new antisemitism," pointing to the involvement of a controversial rapper named Medine in their summer debates.
According to local law enforcement, investigations revealed that the individual responsible for the antisemitic slogans was the proprietor of the commercial premises. His motivations were rooted in a longstanding dispute with the restaurant manager over unpaid rent.
Member of Parliament, David Guiraud, commented, "Recent revelations have unveiled the identity of the individual behind the antisemitic slogans, a 74-year-old Jewish man who claims his actions were influenced by a commercial disagreement. It is my hope that those who prematurely accused rapper Medine or our France Unbowed party now reflect on their judgments." Photo by Quinn Dombrowski from Berkeley, USA, Wikimedia commons.