The monument was rebuilt
The monument was rebuiltPhoto: France 3 Alsace and the Consistoire of the Lower Rhine

The municipality and the Jewish community of the village of Quatzenheim near Strasbourg held a prayer and protest rally against the escalation of anti-Semitism at the local Jewish cemetery.

The rally was attended by Strasbourg Chief Rabbi Avraham Weil, Strasbourg Mayor Roland Ries, several members of the national parliament and senate, and about 1,000 people. Rabbi Weil asked for forgiveness from those buried at the cemetery.

The rally took place after an anti-Semitic crime was committed again in the city of Strasbourg, France. Vandals toppled a monument to a synagogue which was destroyed by the Nazis during World War II.

Two weeks ago, swastikas and swastikas were spray-painted on a hundred graves in the Jewish cemetery of Quetzenheim, and swastikas were also spray-painted on a memorial to victims of the Holocaust.

During the weekend, after intensive investigation and collection of findings from all over the cemetery, the city removed the graffiti and swastikas sprayed in the cemetery in Quatzenheim two weeks ago and re-erected the monument to the synagogue burned by the Nazis that was destroyed on Saturday in Strasbourg.

Strasbourg Mayor Roland Ries told Rabbi Weil: "Any attempt to harm the Jews harms us all, and I am convinced that we will catch and severely punish the criminals."

The mayor asked Rabbi Weil to convey a message to the Jewish community: "We will do everything possible to break the hands of the bastards and will not allow them to break the fabric of good relations with the Jewish community."

Rabbi Weil, who was updated at the end of the Shabbat, said that the memorial site is equipped with security cameras from the Strasbourg municipality. The video clip in question shows a vehicle entering the site, and at least two people using the vehicle to hurl the memorial to the ground

Rabbi Weil said, "We receive many reassurances from all the authorities and residents, but we demand more determination. We cannot get used to such acts of anti-Semitism and I call on the arms of the law in France to deal with it with the utmost determination and speed. The city and its environs are the quietest places in France and we will continue our way of life precisely against the backdrop of the entrance of [the month of ]Adar and as Israel overcame its enemies by adding Torah and mitzvot and strengthening all that is holy and precious to the Jewish people, we will overcome these criminals as well. "