Another Jew Abducted And Tortured In France

Two years ago, Ilan Halimi was murdered by a Muslim gang in France. Last month Mathieu Roumi was kidnapped--both Jews.

The affair began in a manner almost exactly reminiscent of the Ilan Halimi case. Like Halimi, Mathieu Roumi was abducted in his own neighborhood in the same quarter. Like Halimi, Roumi was held in a dark cellar.

Like Halimi, Roumi was subjected to physical and emotional abuse. Like Halimi, Roumi was blamed for being a Jew. Like Halimi, Roumi's kidnappers intended to demand ransom for his release. Here ends the similarity between the cases. Halimi was brutally murdered; Roumi went home.

At the time of the Halimi murder, Caroline Glick decried the lack of response in Israel:

o No Israeli official condemned his murder.

o No Israeli official demanded French authorities investigate why the police were so slow to take anti-Semitism into account while Halimi was held captive

o No Israeli official flew to Paris to participate in Ilan's funeral

o The Foreign Ministry's Web site has no mention of Halimi's murder.

o The Israeli Embassy in Paris did not publicly express its condolences to the Halimi family until February 23--10 days after Ilan was found.

o The French press has noted that the Israeli media has not given the story prominent coverage.

o Halimi's murder has not appeared on the front pages of the papers or at the top of the television or radio broadcasts.

The lack of response could have been part of a pattern, comparable to the 7 years it took Israel to respond to the Al-Dura hoax and over a decade it took Israel to decide to actively seek the repeal the UN Resolution equating Zionism with Racism. Today, with the improved relations Israel has with France with Sarkozy in charge--and the fact Roumi survived his ordeal--Israel might not want to make an issue of what happened.

The fact remains though that the ones who abducted and tortured Roumi are not only from the same neighborhood as the gang that killed Halimi, they also identified themselves as members of the same group--two of them came from Muslim homes.

The lessons of the Halimi murder have not been learned, and Anti-Semitism in France is not going to go away just because Sarkozy is now President of France.

Technorati Tag: Ilan+Halimi and Mathieu Roumi.