A kosher restaurant in Levallois-Perret, Paris, named “Mr. Shnitz”, was defaced with antisemitic graffiti on Saturday. It was reported that “on the front of the restaurant ‘Mr. Shnitz’ you could read many [graffiti] in black, such as: ‘thief’, ‘Jew’.”
The graffiti was located at 46 rue Jules Guesde in Levallois-Perret, according to French news outlet BFMTV citing a police source. The owner explained the vandalism in more detail, noting the presence of seven graffiti with the word “thief” and four graffiti with the word “Jewish,” displayed on the storefront.
By 6:15 p.m. on Saturday, there was a significant development as “the alleged author of the inscriptions was arrested on the public highway by the local police,” leading to his subsequent custody, according to a report in French news sites.
Reactions to the vandalism
The city’s mayor, Agnès Pottier-Dumas, shared her reaction with BFMTV, conveying that she was “extremely shocked by this antisemitic act.” She added that “the cleaning of the storefront will be carried out once the restaurant manager has returned from his vacation.”
Il y a l’antisémitisme de salon qui corrompt les esprits. Et il y a l’antisémitisme de la rue qui charrie sa violence sous nos yeux. Face à ces tags à Levallois, nous disons fermement qu’ils ne gagneront pas. Ni dans les salons, ni dans la rue.Ça doit être le combat de tous. pic.twitter.com/IF4gFl8rqe
— Yonathan Arfi (@Yonathan_Arfi) August 19, 2023
Highlighting the broader implications, Yonathan Arfi, president of Crif, took to Twitter to say, “There is salon antisemitism which corrupts minds. And there is the antisemitism of the streets which carries its violence before our eyes.” He further emphasized, “Faced with these [graffiti] in Levallois, we firmly say that they will not win. It should be everyone’s fight.”
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