Coin Press - Teenage suspect in attack on rabbi sentenced to 16 months in prison

The attack took place last month as Rabbi Arie Engelberg was walking with his nine-year-old son from a synagogue in Orleans, about 110 kilometres (about 70 miles) south of Paris.

After the teenager was arrested, he told investigators that he was Palestinian, but later said during a hearing that he was Moroccan and 16 years old.

According to his lawyer, the teenager arrived less than a year ago in France, where he has no family.

On Wednesday, he was given a 12-month sentence for the attack, as well as additional time in prison for other cases, including refusing to undergo police testing while in custody and possession of illegal narcotics after being found with two grams of cannabis resin.

He was ordered to remain in detention, Orleans public prosecutor Emmanuelle Bochenek-Puren told AFP, adding that the teenager was also banned for five years from the Loiret department where the assault occurred.

"We have encountered a person who has denied any responsibility," said the rabbi's lawyer, Isabelle Abreu, criticising the minor's attitude of "denying everything" after several hours of a closed-door trial.

Accompanying Engelberg to the hearing was Andre Druon, president of the Jewish community of Orleans, who said the attacker "blamed everything on the rabbi" during the hearing.

"The attacker expressed no form of regret or compassion," Druon said after the hearing.

"I have a community and a family to take care of, we have no choice but to move forward, and we do so with our heads held high," Engelberg said, recalling that he had "defended himself" against his attacker.

- 'A right not to be attacked' -

Describing the incident to BFM television, Engelberg said that his attacker had asked if he was Jewish. "I said yes."

"He started saying 'all Jews are sons of...," he said, adding that he wanted to film him with his phone as he hurled insults.

"I decided to act and I pushed his telephone away," the rabbi said. His attacker then "started punching and I protected myself".

As he arrived in court on Wednesday, Engelberg said that a "strong response" from the judiciary was needed.

"In a democracy like France you have a right to not be attacked," he said.

Two days after the assault, more than 1,000 people marched in Orleans in support of the rabbi.

Last year, France registered 1,570 anti-Semitic acts in France, according to interior ministry figures.

France is home to the largest Jewish population outside Israel and the United States, as well as the largest Muslim community in the European Union.

Several EU nations have reported a spike in "anti-Muslim hatred" and "anti-Semitism" since the Gaza war started on October 7, 2023, according to the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights.

Y.Ponomarenko--CPN