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      Suspect Arrested in French Synagogue Blast

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      Antiterrorism prosecutors said officers had taken a man into custody in connection with a blast outside a synagogue.French authorities announced Sunday shortly after midnight that they had detained a suspect in connection with Saturday morning’s attack on a synagogue in southern France, which is being investigated as a terrorist act.As law enforcement officers were trying to arrest the suspect around 11:30 p.m. Saturday, he opened fire, the antiterrorism prosecutor’s office said in a statement, adding that the officers had returned fire. In the process, the man was wounded in the face, the statement said. The extent of his injuries and whether the arresting officers were injured were not immediately clear.Two other people were also taken into custody, the statement said, referring to them as members of the suspect’s “entourage” without providing further details.The suspect was arrested in Nîmes, a city about 24 miles from La Grande Motte, the resort town on the southern coast where the attack took place. Two vehicles exploded outside a synagogue. The doors to the building were also set on fire, the antiterrorism prosecutor’s office said.French authorities have publicly condemned the attack, which comes during a time of mounting fears about antisemitism in the country. In the first three months of 2024, France recorded more than 360 antisemitic episodes. That is an average of four a day — and an increase of 300 percent over the same period in 2023, the government said.“To attack a French person because he is Jewish is to attack all French people,” Gabriel Attal, the prime minister, wrote on the social media platform X before the arrest, adding that nearly 200 law enforcement officers had been mobilized to find the suspect.The attack has sharpened anxiety and reopened painful memories for Jews across France, which has the largest Jewish population in Western Europe and a history of deadly, antisemitic attacks and messaging.The war in Gaza has only heightened tensions and debates about antisemitism in France, where antisemitism and support for Israel emerged as prominent themes in the recent national elections.The far-right National Rally party, once known for antisemitism and tinged with Nazi nostalgia, emphatically expressed its support for Israel. The left, by contrast, tends to be pro-Palestinian in policies and statements. The attack on the synagogue in La Grande Motte could have been far worse. Five people, including the rabbi, were inside when the vehicles exploded. No one was killed, but one police officer responding to the explosions was hurt when a gas bottle near one of the vehicles exploded, the antiterrorism unit said.National antiterrorism prosecutors are investigating the episode as a terrorism-motivated assassination attempt, among other charges.“We probably avoided an absolute tragedy,” Mr. Attal, the prime minister, wrote on X.Aurelien Breeden More

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      Explosions Outside a France Synagogue Were a Terrorist Attack, Prosecutors Say

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      Politicians quickly condemned the attack, at a time when antisemitic incidents have been on the rise in France. A suspect has been arrested in the case.Two vehicles parked outside a synagogue exploded in a French town on Saturday in what prosecutors called an act of terrorism.The cars exploded outside the Ben Yacoov synagogue in La Grande Motte, a resort town on the southern coast of France. The synagogue’s doors were also set on fire, prosecutors said in a statement.Prosecutors are treating the attack as an attempted assassination by a terrorist organization intended to cause harm and destroy property, according to a statement from the antiterrorism unit in the prosecutor’s office.Gérald Darmanin, the French interior minister, announced on social media later Saturday that a suspect had been arrested in the case but did not provide further details.Five people, including the rabbi, were inside the synagogue at the time of the attack, around 8 a.m., as worshipers would have been making their way to the synagogue.No one was killed, but one police officer responding to the explosions was hurt when a gas bottle inside one of the vehicles exploded, the antiterrorism unit said in its statement.The attack is likely to heighten fears of growing antisemitism in France, which has the largest Jewish population in Western Europe. Attacks against Jewish people in France have increased in recent years, and the government said it had recorded more than 360 antisemitic episodes in the first three months of 2024. The Israel-Hamas war has further heightened tensions in a society increasingly divided by religion and ideology. President Emmanuel Macron vowed that the perpetrators would be tracked down, and that Jewish places of worship in France would be protected.“The fight against antisemitism is a constant battle,” Mr. Macron said, adding that it was a fight for “a united nation.”Officials in the municipality of Hérault, which includes La Grande Motte, said the city would be vigilant in protecting buildings associated with its Jewish community.The municipality also canceled a demonstration planned for Saturday in nearby Montpellier by the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement, which seeks to mobilize economic and political pressure on Israel over its treatment of Palestinians.During France’s recent elections, the country’s left, particularly Jean-Luc Melénchon, the founder of France Unbowed, was accused of fanning antisemitism. After Saturday’s explosions, Mr. Melénchon described the attack as an “intolerable crime” and called on France to uphold principles of secularism. More

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      France explosions synagogue antisemitism

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      Politicians quickly condemned the attack, at a time when antisemitic incidents have been on the rise in France. Two vehicles parked outside a synagogue exploded in a French town on Saturday in what prosecutors called an act of terrorism.The cars exploded outside the Ben Yacoov synagogue in La Grande Motte, a resort town on the southern coast of France. The synagogue’s doors were also set on fire, prosecutors said in a statement. Five people, including the rabbi, were inside the synagogue at the time of the attack, around 8 a.m., as worshipers would have been making their way to the synagogue.No one was killed, but one police officer responding to the explosions was hurt when a gas bottle inside one of the vehicles exploded, according to a statement from the antiterrorism unit in the prosecutor’s office.Prosecutors are treating the attack as an attempted assassination by a terrorist organization intended to cause harm and destroy property, the antiterrorism unit said in its statement. No one had been arrested in the case as of Saturday afternoon. The attack is likely to heighten fears of growing antisemitism in France, which has the largest Jewish population in Western Europe. Attacks against Jewish people in France have increased in recent years, and the government said it had recorded more than 360 antisemitic episodes in the first three months of 2024. The Israel-Hamas war has further heightened tensions in a society increasingly divided by religion and ideology. President Emmanuel Macron vowed that the perpetrators would be tracked down, and that Jewish places of worship in France would be protected.“The fight against antisemitism is a constant battle,” Mr. Macron said, adding that it was a fight for “a united nation.”Officials in the municipality of Hérault, which includes La Grande Motte, said the city would be vigilant in protecting buildings associated with its Jewish community. The municipality also canceled a demonstration planned for Saturday in nearby Montpellier by the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement, which seeks to mobilize economic and political pressure on Israel over its treatment of Palestinians. During France’s recent elections, the country’s left, particularly Jean-Luc Melénchon, the founder of France Unbowed, was accused of fanning antisemitism. After Saturday’s explosions, Mr. Melénchon described the attack as an “intolerable crime” and called on France to uphold principles of secularism. More

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      Democrats’ Unity Convention Has One Giant Exception: The Gaza War

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      Harris campaign officials and Democratic leaders have stepped up outreach to Arab and Jewish voters before the event, but large protests are still expected.Even as feel-good displays of joy and confidence are set to dominate the Democratic National Convention this week in Chicago, one painful issue is bitterly dividing the Democratic establishment from its left flank: Israel’s war in Gaza.The specter of convention-upending protests that hovered over a gathering hosted for President Biden has receded somewhat with the rise of a new candidate in Kamala Harris, who is seen as more sympathetic to Palestinian rights activists. But tens of thousands of protesters are still expected to convene just outside the event’s security perimeter, and the potential for high-profile disruptions remains real.Emphasizing the unity theme, convention planners have tried to mollify both Muslim and Jewish Americans.Speaking slots have been allotted to the families of American hostages held by Hamas in Gaza. One of the most prominent Muslims in national politics, Keith Ellison, the progressive attorney general of Minnesota, will be given time onstage. Doug Emhoff, the husband of Ms. Harris, is expected to speak proudly of his Judaism. And the Democratic platform highlights America’s commitment to Israeli security.At the same time, Ms. Harris’s campaign manager, Julie Chavez-Rodriguez, held a series of meetings last week to hear the concerns of Arab Americans and some delegates representing Democratic primary voters who cast “uncommitted” ballots in the Democratic primary to protest Mr. Biden’s Israel policy.Despite such efforts, the convention will be shadowed by large protests against the Biden-Harris administration’s approach to a war that Gaza health authorities say has killed more than 40,000 Palestinians since the Hamas attack on Oct. 7 that left 1,200 people dead in Israel.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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      Jewish Man Charged With Attempted Murder in Attacks on Muslim Neighbor

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      Izak Kadosh faces more than 40 charges, many of them hate crimes, including attempted murder and aggravated assault. Prosecutors said the attacks, in Brooklyn, went on for months.A Jewish man in Brooklyn was arrested and charged with attempted murder and hate crimes after repeatedly attacking his Muslim neighbor over several months, ultimately breaking into the neighbor’s apartment and striking him so hard with a mallet that he had internal bleeding, according to a criminal complaint.The man, Izak Kadosh, was arrested on Saturday, two days after he broke into the apartment, according to police officials. Mr. Kadosh faces more than 40 charges, including attempted murder, aggravated harassment, hate-crime assault and intent to damage property.Mr. Kadosh pleaded not guilty to all of the charges in Kings County Criminal Court on Monday. Bail was set at $25,000 cash or a $125,000 partially secured bond. He is being held on Rikers Island and is due to appear in court again on Friday.A lawyer for Mr. Kadosh declined to comment on the case.The neighbor who was attacked, Ahmed Faycal Chebira, said the harassment started soon after he moved into the building, in the Crown Heights neighborhood, in October. Mr. Chebira, who is from Algeria, said Mr. Kadosh would call him “dirty Arab” or “dirty Muslim” and spit on him.“I told him, leave me alone,” Mr. Chebira, 50, said in Arabic on Wednesday. “Everyone has their own religion in America; I don’t have a problem with anyone.”“I feel relieved now that they caught him,” Mr. Chebira continued, adding that he was in the hospital when he learned about the arrest. “I was afraid that I would leave the hospital and he would be outside.”We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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      Connecticut Official Loses to Jewish Opponent After Antisemitic Comments

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      In an interview posted online, Anabel Figueroa made comments that have been widely condemned as antisemitic. On Tuesday, she lost her Democratic primary to a Jewish challenger.A Connecticut state representative lost a primary election Tuesday, just hours after a video surfaced of her saying that her challenger should not represent the district because he is Jewish.The incumbent, Anabel Figueroa, a Democrat, made the comments in a late July interview posted to YouTube.“We cannot allow for a person of Jewish origin, of Jewish origin, to represent our community,” Ms. Figueroa said in Spanish. “It’s impossible.”Ms. Figueroa’s statement comes as Jewish Democrats across the country are contending with anxiety about antisemitism both within and outside their party. Democrats in Connecticut and beyond were quick to condemn Ms. Figueroa on Tuesday, and her opponent, Jonathan Jacobson, went on to win with a decisive 63 percent of the vote.Mr. Jacobson said that outrage at his opponent’s comments had probably helped cement his support, but that he credits his victory to their substantive policy differences over issues like abortion and affordable housing.“Ultimately, her hate, that’s not what lost her the election; her hate is not what won me the election,” Mr. Jacobson said. We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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      Doug Emhoff Stresses a Personal Push Against Antisemitism

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      At an event in Paris to commemorate a 1982 attack on a Jewish deli there, Kamala Harris’s husband said, “Part of fighting hate is living openly and proudly as a Jew.”When Vice President Kamala Harris’s husband, Doug Emhoff, landed in Paris this week, the Summer Olympics were naturally on the schedule. He met with the champion sprinter Noah Lyles, watched the U.S. men’s basketball team rally against Serbia and is to lead the American presidential delegation at the closing ceremony on Sunday.But Mr. Emhoff, the first Jewish spouse of an American vice president or president, also used his trip to focus on an issue that is far more sobering and also deeply personal: a surge of antisemitism in the United States and around the world since the war between Israel and Hamas erupted in October.“It is a poison coursing through the veins of democracy and democratic ideals,” Mr. Emhoff said on Friday at a commemoration of a deadly 1982 attack on a storied Jewish deli in Paris. Six people were killed in that attack, including two Americans, and 22 were wounded.“Part of fighting hate is living openly and proudly as a Jew and celebrating our faith and our culture,” Mr. Emhoff said as helicopters buzzed overhead, a reminder of the tight security that France has imposed during the Olympics. “I love being Jewish, and I love the joy that comes with being Jewish. And I’m not going to let anyone tell me how to be Jewish.”Mr. Emhoff has emerged as the Biden administration’s most visible face in the struggle against antisemitism. He has convened Jewish leaders at the White House, called former President Donald J. Trump “a known antisemite,” and drawn on his faith to offer comfort to Jewish Americans anguished by the Oct. 7 Hamas-led attack on Israel.He is also, of course, the spouse of a presidential candidate. And to that end, he attended a private fund-raiser in Paris for Ms. Harris’s campaign, though he made no direct mention of her presidential bid in his public statements — even to the scores of journalists who watched him grab lunch at L’As du Falafel, a celebrated falafel spot, on Friday.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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      Shapiro’s College-Era Criticism of Palestinians Draws Fresh Scrutiny

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      Gov. Josh Shapiro, Democrat of Pennsylvania, wrote in his college newspaper three decades ago that Palestinians were “too battle-minded” to achieve a two-state solution in the Middle East, prompting criticism as Vice President Kamala Harris considers him to be her running mate.Mr. Shapiro, 51, has embraced his Jewish identity and been one of the Democratic Party’s staunchest defenders of Israel at a moment when the party is splintered over the war in Gaza.But he says his views have evolved since publishing an opinion essay as a college student at the University of Rochester in New York, when he wrote that Palestinians were incapable of establishing their own homeland and making it successful, even with help from Israel and the United States.“They are too battle-minded to be able to establish a peaceful homeland of their own,” he wrote in the essay, published in the Sept. 23, 1993, edition of The Campus Times, the student newspaper. “They will grow tired of fighting amongst themselves and will turn outside against Israel.”Mr. Shapiro, who was 20 at the time, noted in his essay that he had spent five months studying in Israel and had volunteered in the Israeli Army.“The only way the ‘peace plan’ will be successful is if the Palestinians do not ruin it,” Mr. Shapiro wrote, adding, “Palestinians will not coexist peacefully.”We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More