Demonstrators March Against Anti-Semitism in France
CAROL LIN, CNN ANCHOR: It seems there is fear the Middle East crisis is making Jews in France easy targets. From Paris, CNN senior correspondent Jim Bittermann.</s>JIM BITTERMANN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It was a weekend when the emotions of the Middle East echoed along the boulevards of Paris. Here and elsewhere at France, tens of thousands of French Jews took to the streets to protest a rising tide of anti-Semitic violence. (on camera): There have been reports of almost daily attacks, including over the weekend, when arsonists struck a Jewish sporting club in the southern city of Toulouse. And there was an attempt to fire bomb a synagogue near Paris. (voice-over): Organizers of the rally say they can count more than two dozen attacks on synagogues in recent weeks.</s>ROGER CUKIERMAN, PRESIDENT, JEWISH RCP COUNCIL: We want that this should end, and we want the government to take measures in this direction.</s>BITTERMANN: French politicians in this important election year marched along with the demonstrators and recalled that ignoring increasing attacks against Jews preceded one of the nations most shameful moments, the deportation of thousands of Jews to Nazi death camps.</s>PIERRE LELOUCHE: It started the same way 60 years ago. Starting to attack people in the street because they wore a kipa (ph). They are burning temples, they are burning schools, and I'm not going to let it happen.</s>BITTERMANN: But, as united as the demonstration was against anti-Semitism, there was disarray about how far to go in supporting the government of Israel. Some pro-Sharon supports clashed with marchers opposed to the Israeli prime minister's aggressive moves in the West Bank. One policeman was stabbed trying to intervene, and cameramen and photographers were systematically threatened and attacked by some in the crowd. More than 1,500 French police were mobilized for the demonstration, only barely keeping things under control. And in a country with the largest Islamic and Jewish communities in Europe, that could become increasingly problematic, as long as conflict continues in the Middle East. Jim Bittermann, CNN, Paris.