French soldier secures Jewish school in Marseille
French soldier secures Jewish school in MarseilleReuters

A teenager who attacked a Jewish teacher in France with a machete a year ago was sentenced to seven years in jail on Thursday by a French juvenile court, Reuters reported, citing judicial sources.

The 17-year-old was convicted at a closed-doors trial for slightly wounding the teacher, who was wearing a kippah while walking to school in the southern city of Marseille in January 2016.

The teenager, whose name has not been made public, later told police he was acting in the name of Islamic State (ISIS).

He also said he was proud of the attack and was "ashamed" that he did not manage to kill the 35-year-old teacher, Benjamin Amsellem, who defended himself with a copy of the Torah he was carrying.

The teenager, a Turkish citizen of Kurdish origin, was 15 at the time of the attack. He was charged with attempted murder in connection with a terrorist attack, with the aggravating factor of anti-semitism.

Zvi Ammar, the leader of Marseille's Jewish community, urged male Jews to stop wearing the kippah "until better days," because of fears for their safety.

Ammar later told Arutz Sheva his comments were taken out of context, saying he did not intimate hiding one's Jewishness, but rather that they should emphasize security and wear a hat while on the streets to reduce the risk of being targeted.