Distraught parents of Jewish girl, 12, who was gang-raped by teens ‘because of her religion’ in Paris say the attack was an ‘imitation’ of the horrors carried out by Hamas on October 7

The distraught parents of a 12-year-old Jewish girl who was raped in Paris have broken their silence to share their fears that their child was attacked ‘because of her religion’ in what they believe was an ‘imitation’ of Hamas’ attacks October 7 in Israel.

“For me it is a clearly anti-Semitic attack linked to the importation into France of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict,” the girl’s distressed father said. Le Parisien on Monday.

The girl’s mother added that they understood one of the attackers asked their daughter, “What religion are you?” before the attack.

“He had learned that our daughter was Jewish and from this he concluded that she was necessarily ‘pro-Israel’ and anti-Palestinian. The reality is very different as our daughter, like us, is in favor of the peace camp,” she said.

In a candid first interview, the girl’s mother said her daughter had suffered “intimidation” at school since the conflict between Israel and Hamas escalated last October, and that in November peers started throwing fascist salutes, drawing swastikas on desks and making jokes about the Holocaust.

She urged people to distinguish between the conflict in the Levant and the scourge of anti-Semitism raging in France, acknowledging: “We are not experiencing residual anti-Semitism, but a heavy, visible and tangible anti-Semitism.”

People attend a demonstration against anti-Semitism in front of Paris City Hall after three teenagers aged 12 to 13 were charged in Courbevoie, accused of rape and anti-Semitic violence against a 12-year-old girl, in Paris on June 19. : ‘It could have been your sister’

Protesters hold signs reading “Anti-Semitism is not a residue”, “+1000% of anti-Semitic acts, these are not just numbers”, “Our lives are worth more than the imported conflict” and “Raped Jewish girl, Republic in danger when they gathered to condemn the alleged anti-Semitic gang rape of a 12-year-old girl, during a rally in Lyon Terreaux Square in Lyon on June 18

The young girl, identified only as ‘A.’ to protect her identity, was kidnapped and attacked by two boys on June 15 in a park in Courbevoie, northwest of Paris.

The victim said she knew one of her attackers, and it was reported that she had received death threats before their arrest two days later.

The girl’s parents claimed that the attackers were furious because A. lied about her religion and questioned her about her background.

‘It is clear that this F. [suspect] “couldn’t bear that she could have lied to him about her religion,” the girl’s mother said.

Since the attack just over a week ago, the victim is still in shock. She does not dare to talk about her experiences and suffers from flashbacks at night.

“It’s quite a painful daily life,” her father told the French newspaper in an exclusive first interview.

An investigative source said after the attack: ‘The girl went out with her parents’ permission on Saturday at 3pm to meet her current boyfriend.

‘She was approached by two teenagers and forcibly dragged into a shed connected to a disused daycare center while she was on her way home through a park near her parents’ home in a tower block in La Défense.

“A third minor then joined them and insulted the young girl about her religion and called her a dirty Jew.”

According to the victim’s initial testimony, the girl was beaten, thrown to the ground and photographed with cellphones.

The boys allegedly said they would use the footage to blackmail her, before saying they would burn her while placing a lighter near her face.

It later emerged that the girl’s boyfriend had received a video of her crying during the ordeal.

Several sexual acts were performed on the girl and she was told she would “get killed” if she spoke to police.

One of the attackers is said to have asked the girl to return the next day to give him 200 euros – around £170 – as part of a blackmail plot.

A gynecological examination confirmed that the girl had been raped repeatedly, and the suspects were arrested shortly afterwards.

According to French media reports, the boys are all from the neighboring suburb of Rueil-Malmaison.

Two, aged 13, have been charged with ‘gang rape, death threats and insults and violence of an anti-Semitic nature’.

If found guilty, they could face a maximum sentence of 10 years in the juvenile division of an adult prison, Nanterre prosecutors have indicated.

A third suspect, aged 12, was given the status of ‘witness to rape’ and charged with related offences.

The parents expressed concern that their daughter’s “affair” could be used for political purposes, but linked the rise of anti-Semitism in France to the conflict in Gaza “several thousand kilometers away.”

“In our opinion, there is a mimicry between the actions of Hamas terrorists on the kibbutz and what our daughter suffered down the street in Courbevoie,” the girl’s mother acknowledged.

Since the conflict broke out in October, reports of anti-Semitic attacks in Europe have increased in a number of states.

In November, more than 200 paintings of the Star of David appeared to mark buildings in Paris, an act the Union of Jewish Students of France said was intended to reflect the public identification of Jewish people with bracelets in Nazi Germany.

Just over a month after the Hamas attack in Israel, the French Interior Ministry said 1,247 anti-Semitic incidents have been reported since October 7, almost three times the total for all of 2022.

Protesters hold a banner during a rally against anti-Semitism in Paris, France, on June 20, as hundreds of people gathered after the rape of a girl near Paris on June 15

A protester holds a sign reading “Anti-Fascists Equal Against Anti-Semitism” during a rally in Paris on June 20

In April, a Jewish woman was reportedly raped and threatened with murder by a man seeking to “avenge Palestine” in France.

A 32-year-old man was charged after his arrest in Gennevilliers with making ‘death threats due to religion’ and using narcotics.

Police sources said the suspect took the woman’s phone and texted her mother and ex-boyfriend after capturing her in an apartment on Avenue Chenard-et-Walker.

He wrote to her parents: “Good luck, you will never find your daughter again, you will never see her again, I will desecrate your daughter.”

He wrote to the ex-boyfriend that he wanted to ‘avenge Palestine’.

The victim was able to alert police when she recovered her phone and called her mother for help, leading to the geolocation of her call and an arrest later that day, initially suspected of kidnapping.