[Ynet] It did not take long before the violent economic protests racking La Belle France turned anti-Semitic, blaming Jews for their woes and controlling the government; Synagogues shuttered for first time; Spike in emigration inquiries.French Jews have become a focal point for the "yellow vest" protests plaguing La Belle France with an increase in anti-Semitism by demonstrators. In recent days, the Jewish community has reported numerous anti-Semitic videos, graffiti and actual threats.
Last Saturday, the Chabad House on the Champs-Elysées Boulevard temporarily closed its doors for the first time due to safety concerns. The Chabad House issued a message saying that "for the first time, the Chabad House will not open on Shabbat morning; the police do not have the situation under control and today is a very dangerous day."
At another synagogue in the city, emails were sent to members of the community before Shabbat, warning of the riots. "In the Eli Dray synagogue they recommended us not to conduct services in the morning," said Tova and Yehoshua Nagler who were staying in the city for Shabbat. "The caretaker announced that anyone who nevertheless wants to go will only be able to enter until nine in the morning, and take into account that the synagogue will remain closed until evening because the gates will be closed from inside, so they asked people who come to pray to bring food along."
"THE JEWS ARE PULLING THE STRINGS"
On Route A6, the main artery between Gay Paree and Marseilles, a huge banner was hung on a bridge: "Macron is a whore of the Jews." Social networks have also become an arena for spreading anti-Semitic expression. Thus, for example, a message circulated by an anonymous source wearing a mask: "It was the rich Jews who brought Macron to power so that he would be their puppet and they are pulling the strings. The Jews are responsible for the lowering of taxes on the rich and for the whole financial situation."
In another video, an activist from the "Yellow Vests" invited demonstrators to come to a Chabad Hanukah candle lighting, saying: "The Jewish people celebrate while the French have nothing to eat." The anti-Semitic French entertainer Dieudonné M'bala M'bala and his admirers joined the demonstrators and gave the Nazi salute.
A video circulated on the social networks of French musician Stephen Ballet, who lives in Istanbul, inciting protesters to "understand that the real enemy is the Jews," as he puts it. Ballet, an esteemed musician with a racist reputation, uploaded last week a YouTube video which garnered 36,000 views before it was blocked. In the video Ballet claims that lighting Hanukah candles in front of the Eiffel Tower "while the French are dying of hunger" is a deliberate provocation by the Jews against the French people. He also expressed regret that he could not come and "say hello" to the Jews who lit the candles.