The chief rabbi of Orléans, France was attacked and assaulted in the city, in what French President Emanuel Macron described as a shocking example of the “poison” of antisemitism.
Rabbi Arié Engelberg was physically attacked and subjected to antisemitic slurs by an assailant, while walking with his young son in the center of the French city, according to local media reports. Engelberg was struck on the head and bitten on the shoulder during the attack.
French authorities are treating the incident as an antisemitic hate crime.
The rabbi, who suffered head injuries, was taken to hospital for treatment. His condition was described as stable but serious.
“The attack on Rabbi Arié Engelberg in Orléans shocks us all. I offer him, his son, and all our fellow citizens of the Jewish faith my full support and that of the nation … We will not give in to silence or inaction,” Macron wrote in a post on X.
“Antisemitism is a poison” he added.
The suspect was arrested shortly after the assault and transferred to a psychiatric facility, Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin confirmed. “I condemn with the greatest firmness the antisemitic attack of the chief rabbi of Orléans,” he posted on X. “He has all my support. The suspect was arrested and placed in a psychiatric facility.”
Darmanin later added: “France cannot allow itself to become a stage for foreign tensions that fuel violence and antisemitism.”
Orléans’ mayor, Serge Grouard, condemned the “heinous and intolerable act,” describing it as “a serious attack on the values of our Republic.”
Israel’s Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar also expressed shock about the attack, calling it “a vile and intolerable act,” in a post on X.
“The resurgence of antisemitism in France and across Europe is not only alarming — it is a wake-up call to European governments, leaders, and civil society,” Sa’ar added.
