Cabinet Secretary Gideon Saar met today with French Ambassador to Israel Jacques Huntzinger, who had been summoned ­ at the request of Prime Minister Ariel Sharon ­ to discuss the recent

rise in anti-Semitic incidents in France.



Saar expressed the government’s concern over the incidents, which included the arson at a Jewish kindergarten in Marseilles, the arson at a Jewish school in Paris, the arson at a synagogue, and instances in which Jews have been attacked on the streets.



Saar said that the Government of Israel views the new wave of anti-Semitism with utmost severity and expects that the French government will use all available means to fight it.