Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on phoned an Israeli student who said he was assaulted in Paris, apparently for speaking Hebrew.
The Israeli, who has been identified as Yogev, told the prime minister he was sending his dad a voice message as he boarded the Paris Metro, when he was attacked.
“I can’t think of any other reasons besides the Hebrew language,” Yogev can be heard saying on speakerphone in a video released by Netanyahu.
Yogev recalled losing consciousness and being hospitalized following the assault. He has filed a complaint over the attack with French police.
תקיפת הסטודנט הישראלי בצרפת | חבר הפרלמנט הצרפתי מאיר חביב כתב בפייסבוק: "התקיפה הזו היא סימפטום לאנטישמיות החדשה והאולטרה-אלימה שמשתוללת בשכונות על רקע האיסלאמיזם, שנאת ישראל ותיאוריות הקונספירציה. אין הוכחה טובה מזו שאנטי-ציונות היא האנטישמיות החדשה"@yoavz pic.twitter.com/epKY9sDE8j
— כאן חדשות (@kann_news) December 10, 2019
“The police officers, I must say, are very surprised. They don’t understand why a prime minister and member of parliament are calling me. To them this is a normal incident,” he said.
In response, Netanyahu said, “To us this is not a normal incident and we are not prepared to accept it.”
The prime minister wished Yogev a speedy recovery, “both physically and mentally,” and told him he could call at any time.
On his Twitter account, Netanyahu wrote the incident “appears to be an anti-Semitic act.”
“We’ll do everything to fight any expression of violence and anti-Semitism,” he said.
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