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10, Place Vendôme 75001 Paris Phone: 01.53.45.54.89 Fax: 01.53.45.54.55 E-mail : [email protected] |
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Contact : Richard C. ABITBOL Phone: +33. (0)1.53.45.54.89 Fax: +33. (0)1.53.45.54.55 e-mail: mailto:[email protected] |
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 9:00 AM, September 9, 2017 |
RELEASE
Paris on September 9, 2017
The Confederation of Jews in France and Friends of Israel is deeply shocked and outraged by the vile anti-Semitic attack on our friend Roger Pinto, his wife and his son, on their return from vacation on Thursday night September 7 to 8, 2017!
It condemns with the greatest vigor this new manifestly anti-Semitic aggression!
It was a horrific attack that Roger Pinto, President of SIONA, his wife and his son experienced, an attack that was all the more trying because it took place at their home in Livry-Gargan.
We must remember that Roger Pinto, like the rest of his family, is an unwavering activist and patron of the Jewish Community of France, that he is an unconditional supporter of the most needy both in France and in Israel, and that he has been of all the combats in the fight against anti-Semitism and for the defense of the perenniality of the State of Israel.
Here he is, today, himself attacked by anti-Semites similar to those who attacked Ilan Halimi and more recently Sarah Halimi.
Three individuals broke into his home in the middle of the night, robbed the Pinto family of various goods (credit cards and jewelry). But wanting more, they sought out cash. Not finding what they wanted (the Pinto family had just returned from vacation), they threatened then molested, insulted, beat, stripped and threatened Roger and his family with death, inveighing against them with the following comments: “you are jewish you have money”.
According to the victims, the perpetrators broke into the pavilion, they cut off the power, first kidnapped the son of the family, then in the early morning attacked the mistress of the house who was able to shout despite the hug that one of the perpetrators made her suffer who will throw her to the ground and beat her violently.
The husband, alerted by his wife's cries, tried in vain to intervene but was immediately overpowered by the attackers who dealt him violent blows to the body and face.
Still according to the victims, one of the perpetrators is around 30 years old, the two youngest around 20 years old.
Two of them had their faces masked, while the face of the third was uncovered.
While threatening their victims with death, the attackers who had bound their hands with plastic ties, reportedly told them:
“YOU ARE JEWS AND YOU HAVE MONEY! WE TAKE MONEY FROM THE JEWS TO GIVE IT TO THE POOR”
They claimed and took whatever jewelry, credit cards and cash they could find.
This violent attack continued for several hours. At the end of the morning, Friday around 11:30 am, the wife will manage to escape the vigilance of her attackers and will discreetly be able to alert, by means of her mobile phone, an emergency service which will warn the police!
The victims were then taken to hospital for emergency treatment.
Roger Pinto, his wife and his son, badly traumatized, could not leave the hospital until Friday evening.
Of course, we extend our full support and friendship to Roger Pinto and his family, and wish him a speedy recovery.
This aggression is added to the innumerable list of anti-Semitic attacks that have struck our Jewish fellow citizens over the past fifteen years, attacks that have continued to escalate in violence since January 2015 and which have multiplied in recent months with, as a high point, the horrific assassination of Madame Sarah Halimi under the impassive gaze of the police.
This situation is the direct consequence of the lack of dissuasive effect of our Justice! Thus, while from his first conviction in Belgium, Dieudonné was given a 3-month suspended prison sentence, not 1 day's imprisonment, even with a suspended sentence, was pronounced in France; and this, despite numerous requisitions from the prosecution in this sense!
The Confederation of Jews in France and Friends of Israel calls on the authorities of the French Republic to act quickly to demonstrate that their declarations are sincere and to demonstrate it through action. In the present circumstances, we urge the police authorities to be diligent and to do everything possible so that, as soon as possible, we can identify, arrest and present to the judges the perpetrators of this n-th anti-Semitic attack.
We wish Roger Pinto and his family a speedy recovery and that they can very quickly resume their militant activity.
Richard C. ABITBOL
Chairman
