Jewish extremists attack reporter and AFP in Paris
The Local France - [email protected]
Published: 23 Oct, 2015 CET.
Updated: Fri 23 Oct 2015 15:04 CET
Members of an extremist Jewish group attacked a prominent French journalist on Thursday, after trying to storm the offices of the AFP news agency in Paris, in protest over its coverage of the Israel-Palestine conflict.
Around 100 members from the Ligue de Défense Juive (LDJ) protested on Thursday night in front of the Paris offices of the AFP news agency, reported the Metro newspaper.
The mob then tried to storm the offices of the AFP news agency, prompting riot police to spray them with tear gas.
Claiming to be unhappy about the agency's coverage of conflicts in Israel and Palestine, masked protestors launched firecrackers while yelling "Islamic terrorists" at journalists at the scene.
They then attacked Buzzfeed France journalist David Perrotin, who was live-tweeting the protest, and who had written about the group in the past.
Une partie des militants #LDJ se cagoulent devant CRS pic.twitter.com/3YNiZFz0Ki
— David Perrotin (@davidperrotin) October 22, 2015
The editor of Buzzfeed France tweeted on Friday that Perrotin was safe and was under protection.
CRS riot police defending Agence France Presse journalists from pro-Israel demonstrators in Paris right now pic.twitter.com/GuuuAUWPE3
— Peter Allen (@peterallenparis) October 22, 2015
The French LDJ denies breaking French laws, yet takes inspiration from the far-right Jewish Defense League, labelled a "violent extremist organization" by the FBI in 2001 and banned in both the US and Israel.
It also uses the emblem of a banned Israeli far-right party, the Kach, a raised fist inside a black Star of David, set against a yellow backing.
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Around 100 members from the Ligue de Défense Juive (LDJ) protested on Thursday night in front of the Paris offices of the AFP news agency, reported the Metro newspaper.
The mob then tried to storm the offices of the AFP news agency, prompting riot police to spray them with tear gas.
Claiming to be unhappy about the agency's coverage of conflicts in Israel and Palestine, masked protestors launched firecrackers while yelling "Islamic terrorists" at journalists at the scene.
They then attacked Buzzfeed France journalist David Perrotin, who was live-tweeting the protest, and who had written about the group in the past.
Une partie des militants #LDJ se cagoulent devant CRS pic.twitter.com/3YNiZFz0Ki
— David Perrotin (@davidperrotin) October 22, 2015
The editor of Buzzfeed France tweeted on Friday that Perrotin was safe and was under protection.
CRS riot police defending Agence France Presse journalists from pro-Israel demonstrators in Paris right now pic.twitter.com/GuuuAUWPE3
— Peter Allen (@peterallenparis) October 22, 2015
The French LDJ denies breaking French laws, yet takes inspiration from the far-right Jewish Defense League, labelled a "violent extremist organization" by the FBI in 2001 and banned in both the US and Israel.
It also uses the emblem of a banned Israeli far-right party, the Kach, a raised fist inside a black Star of David, set against a yellow backing.
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