# Young girl beaten in anti-Semitic attack; French fine her parents! **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [April 3, 2003, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/young-girl-beaten-in-anti-semitic-attack-french-fine-her-parents/166299 "2003-04-03T20:53:47Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Gary\_Kumquat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/4491bb/32.png) [@Gary\_Kumquat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gary_Kumquat)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2003, 12:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/young-girl-beaten-in-anti-semitic-attack-french-fine-her-parents/166299/61 "2003-04-04T12:27:45Z")
Someone tell me, what is the term for someone who constantly derides and accuses another nation without any basis other than prejudice? December, what would you call such a person? You are one. ---
**Author:** ![december](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/838e76/32.png) [@december](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/december)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2003, 12:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/young-girl-beaten-in-anti-semitic-attack-french-fine-her-parents/166299/62 "2003-04-04T12:43:32Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Gary Kumquat \* > \*\*Someone tell me, what is the term for someone who constantly derides and accuses another nation without any basis other than prejudice? \*\* Give me a break. This thread already has three separate cites about the problems of the Jews in France today. Two French education ministers stated that this was a problem. ---
**Author:** ![yojimbo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yojimbo/32/232_2.png) [@yojimbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yojimbo)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2003, 12:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/young-girl-beaten-in-anti-semitic-attack-french-fine-her-parents/166299/63 "2003-04-04T12:47:08Z")
Just because some French people are racist motherfuckers doesn’t change what you are. ---
**Author:** ![Who\_me\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/958977/32.png) [@Who\_me\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Who_me_1)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2003, 12:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/young-girl-beaten-in-anti-semitic-attack-french-fine-her-parents/166299/64 "2003-04-04T12:53:30Z")
**december** , you’re saying that you should be given a break since, even though your OP was total bullshit, there are problems with anti-semtism in France. :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![TwistofFate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/cdc98d/32.png) [@TwistofFate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TwistofFate)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2003, 12:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/young-girl-beaten-in-anti-semitic-attack-french-fine-her-parents/166299/65 "2003-04-04T12:56:18Z")
December, I was wrong to call you what I did in my last post to this thread. I was out of line. It was anger that drove me to say that. I raised the gag order issue incorrectly, but the several translations of the op article have substanciated my point about the verdict of the case. However, you have painted me into a corner and I would like to see a retraction of your statement that I am unsympathetic to the victims of anti-semetic attacks. While the claim was made directly at wring, it was also indirectly at me per your previous grouping of wrings postings and mine. If you do not see fit to withdraw your statement, then I woukd at least like to see you reply to tomndebb’s post. ---
**Author:** ![Spavined\_Gelding](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/958977/32.png) [@Spavined\_Gelding](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spavined_Gelding)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2003, 1:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/young-girl-beaten-in-anti-semitic-attack-french-fine-her-parents/166299/66 "2003-04-04T13:00:02Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by december \* > \*\* > > But, your mistake was my fault. :dubious: \*\* Our friend is now defending his post by saying that he posted a misrepresentation and that his assertions cannot be taken at face value. You can’t believe my posts, says **December** , you have to go read the linked articles and be fluent in the technical minutia of a foreign language to make sure I am not just making up the whole thing to support a contention that has no factual basis. If you believe my misrepresentations it is your fault and I am not in anyway culpable for the initial deception. You cannot take me at my word, says our friend. What is this? Has this board just turned into a huge game of liar’s poker? Is there no obligation to be accurate and truthful around here? Is there no bond of trust and confidence? Should **December** ’s posts carry a implicit disclaimer as follows: “This posting may be complete bullshit, dishonest, incomplete or manipulative. Read with scepticism. Believe at your own risk.” ---
**Author:** ![Desmostylus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/c57346/32.png) [@Desmostylus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Desmostylus)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2003, 1:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/young-girl-beaten-in-anti-semitic-attack-french-fine-her-parents/166299/67 "2003-04-04T13:09:14Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Spavined Gelding \* > \*\*Should **December** ’s posts carry a implicit disclaimer as follows: “This posting may be complete bullshit, dishonest, incomplete or manipulative. Read with scepticism. Believe at your own risk.” \*\* What, they don’t already? Where have you been, **Spavined Gelding**? 😉 ---
**Author:** ![december](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/838e76/32.png) [@december](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/december)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2003, 1:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/young-girl-beaten-in-anti-semitic-attack-french-fine-her-parents/166299/68 "2003-04-04T13:23:56Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by TwistofFate \* > December, I was wrong to call you what I did in my last post to this thread. > > I was out of line. It was anger that drove me to say that. > > I raised the gag order issue incorrectly, but the several translations of the op article have substanciated my point about the verdict of the case. Well said, **TwistofFate** > [@](#): > > I would like to see a retraction of your statement that I am unsympathetic to the victims of anti-semetic attacks. I am sure you are not an anti-semite. I’m sorry my words implied that you were. I must confess that I have relatives in France, which makes me more excited about this situation than most people. There has been a pattern of Arab attacks on French Jews, met by denial and inadequate response from the French government. The French government has now acknowledged the problem and is trying to do better, for which I salute them. > [@](#): > > I would at least like to see you reply to tomndebb’s post. **tomndebb** wrote > [@](#): > > So, basically, december is now complaining that the “loser pays” provisions of tort law that he has championed on numerous occasions should be suspended if the party he sides with initiates a lawsuit and loses? **tomndebb** was just wrong. “Loser pays” or the “British rule” requires that the losing party pay the costs incurred by the winning party, including their legal expenses. In this case, the parents were required to pay court costs (apparently not legal expense) plus a fine a 4000 Euros. The fine amount was not based on the legal expense incurred by the Principal and Assistant Principal. **Spavined Gelding** , the OP said that the parents were fined for failing to “cover up or paper over its antisemitism problems.” According to the translation of the article, the fine had three bases, one of which was tht the court blamed the parents for the thelarge amount of publicity given to this incident. (“A passage from the judgement adds that ‘nothing was done to respect the presumption of innocence, the court noticed in addition that this business was the object of a very important mobilization of the press (there were 20 journalists present… at least at the beginning of the trial) which is certainly not the doing of the court or of the defendants’.”) I admit that the OP overlooked the other two bases for the fine. ---
**Author:** ![Gary\_Kumquat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/4491bb/32.png) [@Gary\_Kumquat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gary_Kumquat)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2003, 1:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/young-girl-beaten-in-anti-semitic-attack-french-fine-her-parents/166299/69 "2003-04-04T13:51:42Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by december \* > \*\*Give me a break. \*\* Why? You have shown repeatedly that you prepared to entirely fabricate serious accusations. Even if we look only at this thread there’s a list of examples far better than anything you provided for your OP: > [@](#): > > **It’s hard to disagree with Sullivan’s interpretation that the government is trying to cover up or paper over its antisemitism problems.** When it’s not hard at all. Hell, you didn’t even bother to get a proper translation of your main cite, for gods sake. You just posted your accusation without any thought of fairness. Then, you got even better. You decide to totally fabricate two posters stance on a completely separate issue: > [@](#): > > **I assume the two of you were equally unsympathic when Rosa Parks broke the law by not sitting in the back of the bus.** No basis or reason, just accusation aimed at those who disagree with you. Then you really excel yourself. You go for the two pronged baseless attack - insulting poster and nation, all without any basis > [@](#): > > **I am critical of your lack of sympathy for this girl, her family, and French Jews in general during a period of rampant anti-semitism.** Oh, and just for shits and giggles you then go to totally misrepresent someone to claim your view is supported: > [@](#): > > **I greatly appreciate your input, Fang. You didn’t quite say the attack was almost surely anti-semitic, given what’s going on in France, but I assume you would support that POV.** Fang had said nothing of the fucking sort, and I do not think you so stupid that you could misread his statement so massively. You tell me December. Should I find your behaviour here despicably stupid, or despicably prejudiced? What does it say to you that not a single person has yet agreed with your OP? Your premise wasn’t even arguable, just completely unfounded spite. ---
**Author:** ![London\_Calling](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@London\_Calling](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/London_Calling)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2003, 2:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/young-girl-beaten-in-anti-semitic-attack-french-fine-her-parents/166299/70 "2003-04-04T14:49:32Z")
I don’t like to put words in peoples’ mouths (much!) but let me try to paraphrase and frame the above observation for you, **december** in two questions; You lie, you manipulate information, you reject and ignore rational explanations, why, then, are you not an ugly racist fuck ? And, given the above, why are you not at least the equal of ‘anti-Semitic’ (whatever that might mean in your world) in relation to France and French people ? ---
**Author:** ![december](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/838e76/32.png) [@december](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/december)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2003, 3:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/young-girl-beaten-in-anti-semitic-attack-french-fine-her-parents/166299/71 "2003-04-04T15:01:11Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by London\_Calling \* > \*\*And, given the above, why are you not at least the equal of ‘anti-Semitic’ (whatever that might mean in your world) in relation to France and French people ? \*\* Because I don’t go around beating up French school girls. ---
**Author:** ![Coldfire](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a587f6/32.png) [@Coldfire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Coldfire)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2003, 3:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/young-girl-beaten-in-anti-semitic-attack-french-fine-her-parents/166299/72 "2003-04-04T15:06:46Z")
So, _saying_ a certain nation is inherently racist (even if you have no substantial proof of any kind) is OK, as long as you don’t beat them up over it. Because _that_ would be the equivalent of “anti-Semitic”. Huh? If I beat up a Jew, I may be an anti-Semitic. Then again, maybe he had an affair with my wife, and I’m beating him up for a reason unrelated to his ethnicity. But if I merely say things like “Jews are greedy” and “all Jews hate Muslims”, then that obviously doesn’t make me anti-Semitic, per **december** ’s logic. See, I didn’t actually _do_ anything, so I’m home free. **december** , what colour is the sky in your world? ---
**Author:** ![yojimbo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yojimbo/32/232_2.png) [@yojimbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yojimbo)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2003, 3:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/young-girl-beaten-in-anti-semitic-attack-french-fine-her-parents/166299/73 "2003-04-04T15:13:33Z")
Ready … Shoot … Aim 😉 ---
**Author:** ![december](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/838e76/32.png) [@december](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/december)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2003, 3:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/young-girl-beaten-in-anti-semitic-attack-french-fine-her-parents/166299/74 "2003-04-04T15:35:18Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Coldfire \* > So, _saying_ a certain nation is inherently racist (even if you have no substantial proof of any kind) is OK **Coldfire** , I provided substantial proof, both on this thread and during other debates. There has been a major problem in France of Arabs attacking Jews and Jewish institutions. The government had denied the problem, but they are now facing it, to their credit. In addition to the cites already provided, here’s some [background](http://wordofmessiah.org/france_antisemitism.htm). > [@](#): > > **Anti-Semitism rears ugly head in Europe** \* > French Jews no longer feel safe, hide religion, emigrate to Israel\* > > Ten days ago, just before Sabbath service, an anonymous note was delivered to the headquarters of the French Liberal Jewish Movement: “We want the skin of Rabbi Gabriel Farhi and will avenge the blood of our Palestinian brothers,” it said. > > Later that day, the synagogue doorbell rang. Farhi, 34, opened the door. An attacker in a motorcycle helmet shouted “Allah is great!” in Arabic, plunged a knife into his stomach and fled… > > **France: Europe’s Largest Jewish Population** > > France is home to some 600,000 Jews… Many of them are wondering, too, whether France… is once again no longer a safe haven. > > Jewish teens wearing yarmulkes have been attacked on the street. Extraordinary safety precautions take place before synagogue services in some cities, including Paris. And many Jews are already voting with their feet and leaving France for Israel… > > French politicians, often in denial about the possibility of anti-Semitism re-emerging in their country, have begun to admit the once unthinkable. > > Nicolas Sarkozy, France’s tough new law-and-order interior minister, attended an ecumenical service to mark the attack on Farhi. He guaranteed new measures to prevent future attacks… > > Just last spring, President Jacques Chirac insisted there was no anti-Semitism in France, even as Jewish groups said the number of anti-Jewish attacks was at its highest since World War II. Now he, too, has changed his tune… > > Sarkozy has ordered police to classify crimes against Jewish sites as “anti-Semitic,” rather than as generic vandalism, The Wiesenthal Center’s Samuels said. That would allow French authorities to keep better track of incidents. > > French authorities increased security at Jewish sites last year, following a wave of attacks at synagogues, schools and cemeteries. In the most serious case, a synagogue in southern Marseille was burned down. > > Most of the attacks since the start of the Palestinian uprising in 2000 are presumed to have been carried out by Muslims of North African origin, according to an Associated Press report… . > > **The Intifada is brewing in France** > > …French Jews have suffered numerous acts of vandalism and abuse in recent months, prompting complaints from Ariel Sharon, Israel’s prime minister, and from American Jews. A week ago the transmitter of Radio Juive de Marseille, a Jewish radio station in the south of France, was sabotaged… > > **Hiding Your Identity** > > Meanwhile, some Jews are hiding their identity in public. > > “My son goes to a Jewish school,” said Francis Lentschner, vice president of the liberal Jewish movement, the French equivalent of the Reform movement in the United States. “He can wear his yarmulke in school. But I prefer him not to wear one outside.” > > Ohana wears a Hebrew letter on a gold chain around her neck. Lately, she said, she keeps it tucked inside her collar. > > …In December, Simcha Epstein, director of the Vidal Sassoon International Center for the Study of Anti-Semitism at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem, said a permanent base of hostility towards Jews now exists in France, creating a foundation for more intense waves of anti-Semitism in the future… > > “We have stats for all these waves, and we can compare this last one with the other ones,” he said. “The waves are of growing intensity. There were more anti-Jewish incidents, including burning of synagogues, in the 1970s than in '59-'60, more incidents at end of '80s beginning of '90s, and the latest wave is stronger than all the rest of the waves.” > > Epstein said the difference between this wave and other waves is the perpetrators – with around 80 percent of the current perpetrators being of Arab/Islamic origin. > > The social and population base of hostility to Jews can be counted among three groups, he said. In the last presidential election, the extreme right received 20 percent of the vote, of which 52 percent have anti-Jewish feelings, which translates to 10 percent of the population. > > “Add 10 percent of the extreme left, and 10 percent of Muslims, Arabs and Third World population, and you have 30 percent of the population representing a permanent zone of hatred, of hostility, which will remain even if the wave will go down, in particular in the younger generation.” ---
**Author:** ![yojimbo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yojimbo/32/232_2.png) [@yojimbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yojimbo)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2003, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/young-girl-beaten-in-anti-semitic-attack-french-fine-her-parents/166299/75 "2003-04-04T15:41:23Z")
**december** do you think that the US is racist? I could throw sites at you all day about racist groups in the US. I don’t think anybody is doubting that France has it’s share of race problems. This matters little however to your OP. ---
**Author:** ![London\_Calling](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@London\_Calling](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/London_Calling)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2003, 3:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/young-girl-beaten-in-anti-semitic-attack-french-fine-her-parents/166299/76 "2003-04-04T15:45:21Z")
But none of that is your particular angle. Let me spell it out for you, **december**. What you’re doing here is attempting to propagate hatred based (knowingly) on misinformation and lies - none of this particular OP is credible. Period. It’s lies than even the scantest of perusals reveals. The way _you’ve_ – no one else, not even the French Government, just you - wrote it encourages hatred of a people. That’s your choice, you did that. Now, I haven’t had reason to look at the exact terms of the fairly recent (so-called) ‘hate-crime’ legislation in both our countries (and others) but I’d be very surprised if what you post here doesn’t sometimes rub up against the intention of that legislation. But I don’t know for sure, so I’ll check it out over the weekend. It’s a new territory for all of us. I’m sure you’re never thought of yourself as a hate criminal but, I guess you’ll know from history, sometimes those are the worst kind. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Cheatem\_Undhow](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/13edae/32.png) [@Dewey\_Cheatem\_Undhow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Cheatem_Undhow)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2003, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/young-girl-beaten-in-anti-semitic-attack-french-fine-her-parents/166299/77 "2003-04-04T16:00:03Z")
> [@](#): > > _Originally posted by december \* > **tomndebb** was just wrong. “Loser pays” or the “British rule” requires that the losing party pay the costs incurred by the winning party, including their legal expenses. In this case, the parents were required to pay court costs (apparently not legal expense) plus a fine a 4000 Euros. The fine amount was not based on the legal expense incurred by the Principal and Assistant Principal._\* This is an utter crock of shit. It misses the whole point of the policy behind “loser pays:” namely, to reduce meritless lawsuits by imposing a financial cost on the plaintiffs that bring them. Whether that cost is in the form of reimbursement of court costs and defendant’s legal fees or in the form of a fine is irrelevant. Hell, I’d even go out on a limb and say that for particularly meritless lawsuits, a fine on top of the reimbursement of costs is a pretty damned sensible policy – I have very little problem with penalizing people for wasting the court’s time or otherwise interfering with the performance of the court’s duties. You’ve managed to totally reverse course on one conservative policy (loser pays). You’re also coming pretty damned close to reversing course on another conservative position, opposition to hate crime legislation. You blithely assume that, based on the race and religion of attacker and victim, the assault was anti-Semetic. Yes, France has had problems with antisemitic violence, but that doesn’t say anything about the particulars of this specific case. I would posit that this kind of presumption is exactly the kind of things most conservatives decry in America – the notion that just because a white guy kills a black guy, the crime was racially motivated (and thus is another statistic supporting hate crimes legislation). Shit like this makes me embarrassed to be a conservative. Would it kill you to think your argument through BEFORE you post? ---
**Author:** ![Eva\_Luna](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e495f1/32.png) [@Eva\_Luna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eva_Luna)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2003, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/young-girl-beaten-in-anti-semitic-attack-french-fine-her-parents/166299/78 "2003-04-04T16:24:40Z")
Plus did you ever think that drivel like this lawsuit, not to mention your entire OP, are exactly the kind of thing that _contribute_ to anti-Semitic sentiment? ---
**Author:** ![ZiggyB](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b487fb/32.png) [@ZiggyB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZiggyB)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2003, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/young-girl-beaten-in-anti-semitic-attack-french-fine-her-parents/166299/79 "2003-04-04T16:37:18Z")
From the OP: > [@](#): > > _Originally posted by december_ > Here’s the report from Andrew Sullivan > > > [@](#): > > > > … A judge has now fined the parents of the girl - yes, the parents - for talking to the media about the affair. … > > My grasp of the French language is limited, but the original article seems to bear out Sullivan’s translation. From Page 2: > [@](#): > > _Originally posted by december_ > I had interpreted the google translation to mean that the 4000 Euro fine was because the judge felt the parents had insulted the leaders of the Camus school by raising the issue of anti-semitism. If the fine was assessed only because the suit was totally without merit, then I agree that the OP was off base Why do I think that if a “liberal” journalist had totally misrepresented an article, december would be up in arms about the dishonesty of left-wing journalists, but when it’s someone who agrees with his blinkered worldview, it’s shrugged off with no comment? Or are you intending to start a pit thread, december, about how this Andrew Sullivan needs to learn french to avoid making himself (and you by association) look like an idiot? But maybe your energy should be saved for the next thread where you twist facts and engage in lies in the pursuit of your agenda. And I thought trolling was forbidden at this message board. :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![december](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/838e76/32.png) [@december](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/december)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2003, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/young-girl-beaten-in-anti-semitic-attack-french-fine-her-parents/166299/80 "2003-04-04T16:46:34Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Dewey Cheatem Undhow \* > It misses the whole point of the policy behind “loser pays:” namely, to reduce meritless lawsuits by imposing a financial cost on the plaintiffs that bring them. Whether that cost is in the form of reimbursement of court costs and defendant’s legal fees or in the form of a fine is irrelevant. You have a point, **DCU**. As you say, the judge found that the suit was meritless. OTOH, there are two rebuttals. 1. The situation is unclear because the fine had multiple reasons. The judge also said that the parents were to blame for giving undue publicity to the case and for insulting the Principal and Vice Principal. 2. I think it was unreasonable for the judge to find the suit to be meritless. The finding looks weird. In this country, if a schoolgirl traveled to another school to take an exam, and she was beaten up by a group of students there, the parents could probably win a suit against the school for failing to protect the girl – especially if the Minister of Education had recently sent out a warning about that sort of thing! Even if the parents lost the suit, it would be incredible for a judge to find the suit totally without merit. > [@](#): > > You’re also coming pretty damned close to reversing course on another conservative position, opposition to hate crime legislation. I didn’t mean to address hate crime legislation. (BTW I have mixed feelings about that issue.) Saying that hate crimes exist is not to say that hate-crime legislation is the right way to deal with the problem. > [@](#): > > You blithely assume that, based on the race and religion of attacker and victim, the assault was anti-Semetic. Yes, France has had problems with antisemitic violence, but that doesn’t say anything about the particulars of this specific case. True. Still, IMHO the conclusion seems overwhelmingly likely. > [@](#): > > I would posit that this kind of presumption is exactly the kind of things most conservatives decry in America – the notion that just because a white guy kills a black guy, the crime was racially motivated. Of course, a couple of newspaper articles can’t absolutely prove it was a hate crime, but there’s every indication that it was. Note that _three_ Jewish girls were beaten up by a _group_ of Arab students. AFAIK the attackers didn’t know the victims, since they went to different schools. Furthermore, the level of Arab on Jew violence in France today is a lot higher than white on black violence in this country. Note that the case generated wide media attention (“There were twenty journalists present”) Presumably the media saw this as a hate crime, not just a playground spat between school children. For all these reasons, I think it’s highly likely that this really was a hate crime. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/young-girl-beaten-in-anti-semitic-attack-french-fine-her-parents/166299.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/young-girl-beaten-in-anti-semitic-attack-french-fine-her-parents/166299.md?page=5)