“We have, broadly speaking, expressed our concerns about anti-Semitic incidents in Europe,” Harf said during a press briefing. “There is never excuse for anti-Semitism. There is no justification for any violence.”
On January 9, during a deadly anti-Semitic attack, a gunman took hostages in a Paris kosher market killing four people.
French President Francois Hollande called the assault a “dreadful anti-Semitic attack" and sent 10,000 troops to guard “sensitive sites”, such as synagogues and places of mass gatherings. The incident made Israeli leaders urge European Jews to immigrate to the Jewish state.
According to the Jewish Agency for Israel, there are currently about 1.5 million Jews living in Europe, with about 500,000 settled in France. In the past few years, European Union has experienced a series of deadly anti-Semitic strikes.
In March 2012, a rampage at a Jewish school in southwestern France killed four, including three children. In May 2014 a gunman killed four people at the Jewish Museum of Belgium. According to French and Belgian prosecutor’s office information, both attacks were carried through by French citizens of Algerian descent.
