Police car in Lyon, France (Shutterstock) (Shutterstock)
French police Lyon

The National Office for Vigilance Against Antisemitism urged that the ringleader be served a “severe exemplary and dissuasive sentence” for the assault.

By The Algemeiner

Police in the French city of Lyon have arrested the ringleader of an anti-Semitic attack on a Jewish man wearing a kippa that took place last Wednesday night.

Local media reported that the attack took place around 8 p.m., as Jews marked the end of the two-day New Year holiday. The unnamed man was set upon by a gang of five assailants as he walked through Place Gabriel-Péri, in the Guillotière district of Lyon.

The ringleader, who is reported to be a minor, allegedly called the victim a “dirty Jew.” After the victim remonstrated against the insult, he was punched and kicked by the gang. Police officers who had been attending to a separate incident nearby arrived at the scene and arrested the ringleader.

The victim, who was slightly injured during the attack, subsequently filed a complaint.

In a statement released on Friday, the National Office for Vigilance Against Antisemitism (BNVCA) — a French group that assists the victims of antisemitic violence — confirmed that it was joining the victim as a civil party to his complaint.

“The BNVCA denounces and strongly condemns the anti-Semitic aggression committed in Lyon on Wednesday evening, September 9, at around 8 p.m. against a man of Jewish faith identified because he was wearing a kippa on his head,” the group said.

The BNVCA urged that the ringleader be served a “severe exemplary and dissuasive sentence” for the assault, irrespective of his legal status as a minor, along with “community service at a Holocaust memorial site.”

Do You Love Israel? Make a Donation to Show Your Support!

Donate to vital charities that protect Israelis and help inspire millions around the world to support Israel too!

Now more than ever, Israel needs your help to fight and win the war -- and also the battle of public opinion.

Anti-Israel bias and boycotts are out of control. Israel's enemies effectively use social media to incite brutal terror against innocent Israeli civilians. Please help us fight back!

HELP DEFEND THE TRUTH - MAKE A DONATION TODAY