French Court Convicts Woman in Strasbourg Jewish Students Attack, Rejects Antisemitic Motive
A French court convicted a woman over a 2024 attack on Jewish students at the University of Strasbourg but rejected an antisemitic motive, drawing sharp criticism from Jewish organizations.
More than two years after three Jewish students were attacked at the University of Strasbourg campus in France, a court convicted one of the participants this week, but did not recognize an antisemitic motive.
The Incident at the Esplanade Campus
The event occurred on the night of January 28, 2024, at the Esplanade campus of the University of Strasbourg. Arthur and twin sisters Haya and Shterna erased "Israel is a murderer" graffiti, wrote "No to antisemitism," and hung posters calling for the release of hostages held by Hamas.
A confrontation ensued with Malak M. According to testimonies presented in court, after one of the students photographed her, Malak demanded she stop and delete the video, sending a message on a Signal group. Shortly thereafter, four masked men arrived at the scene.
Arthur was knocked down and beaten, while Haya testified that she was hit in the legs and stomach and thrown to the ground. The two recounted that during the incident they were called "fascist Zionists" and "dirty Zionists," among other slurs. The four men suspected of carrying out the physical assault have not been identified or located.
Court Ruling: Antisemitic Motive Not Proven
Due to the complexity of the case, the hearing was transferred to a panel of judges. A central issue in the trial was whether the attack should be viewed as an act committed with an antisemitic motive.
The investigation initially examined the aggravating circumstance of antisemitism, but this angle was dropped during the proceedings. Prosecutor Guillaume Spindler argued that the evidence pointed to a confrontation stemming from a political dispute over the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and it was not proven that the violence stemmed from the victims' Jewish identity. The court accepted this position.
Malak M. was convicted of joint assault, even though she did not personally strike the victims, as the prosecution argued her actions contributed to the escalation. Another defendant, Ines L., was acquitted due to insufficient evidence.
The decision drew criticism from the Union of Jewish Students in France (UEJF), which questioned how the court could ignore the "dirty Zionists" slurs while the students advocated for hostages. The CRIF and the European Jewish Association also criticized the failure to recognize antisemitism.
University Stance Versus Judicial Decision
The court's position contrasts with how the University of Strasbourg described the event in real-time. Prof. Michel Deneken, then university president, strongly condemned the incident as an "antisemitic attack" and called for swift police action.
More than two years after the attack, the gap between the university and Jewish organizations' characterization of the event and the court's verdict remains at the center of criticism.
