Tens of thousands of French people march in Paris to protest against antisemitism. Photo: Screenshot

A Jewish man wearing a kippah was brutally attacked and called a “dirty Jew” in France this week, as the country continues to face a rise in antisemitic incidents since the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas war in 2023.

This latest antisemitic attack took place on Wednesday night in Anduze, a small town in southern France, where the 70-year-old Jewish man was brutally beaten by an intoxicated individual, French media reported.

The elderly man — wearing a kippah and tzitzit, fringes on Jewish religious garments worn underneath a shirt, was feeding stray cats on the street when a 40-year-old drunk man approached him and demanded money.

According to eyewitness statements, when the victim refused to give him money, the attacker punched and kicked him repeatedly while calling him a “dirty Jew.”

The town’s prosecutor, Abdelkrim Grini, confirmed that the antisemitic nature of the attack was “proven” in light of the events that took place, according to the French publication Entrevue.

The suspect, who had previously been arrested for theft, was taken into custody on Thursday morning and is facing charges of “violence and insults based on religious affiliation or non-affiliation.”

However, due to his intoxication, he could not be interrogated immediately and will be questioned once his condition permits.

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

Antisemitism skyrocketed in France following the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas’s invasion of and massacre across southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, amid the ensuing war in Gaza.

In March, Arie Engelberg, the rabbi of Orléans, was violently attacked while walking home with his nine-year-old son from the synagogue in the city, located south of Paris.

According to Engelberg, the attacker asked if he was Jewish, and when the rabbi replied yes, the assailant began hurling antisemitic insults, including “all Jews are sons of —,” and attempted to film him. The attacker then allegedly started punching Engelberg and bit him until several people stepped in to help.

French authorities arrested a 16-year-old teenager in connection with the antisemitic attack who was known under at least three identities – including one Moroccan and two Palestinian.

Antisemitism in France continued to surge to alarming levels across the country last year, with 1,570 incidents recorded, according to a report by the Representative Council of Jewish Institutions of France (CRIF) – the main representative body of French Jews.

The total number of antisemitic outrages in 2024 was a slight dip from 2023’s record total of 1,676, but it marked a striking increase from the 436 antisemitic acts recorded in 2022.

In late May and early June, antisemitic acts rose by more than 140 percent, far surpassing the weekly average of slightly more than 30 incidents.

The report also found that 65.2 percent of antisemitic acts last year targeted individuals, with more than 10 percent of these offenses involving physical violence.

One such incident occurred in June, when a 12-year-old Jewish girl was raped by three Muslim boys in a Paris suburb. The child told investigators that the assailants called her a “dirty Jew” and hurled other antisemitic comments at her during the attack.