Mayor Tells Jews to Lay Low; Chabad Won’t Comply
After three firebombs hit the synagogue of Saint-Denis, a poor and heavily Muslim suburb of Paris, municipal authorities advised the local Jewish community to lower its profile. The local Chabad Shluchim have no intention of complying.
From The Times of Israel:
Like dozens of attacks on French synagogues since 2000, the January 2009 incident at the Chabad House of Saint-Denis, which did not result in any injuries, was believed to have been Islamist extremists’ retaliation for Israel’s actions – that year against Hamas in Gaza.
“We were told by the mayor from the Communist Party that it would be prudent if we tone down our activities at least until things calm down in the Middle East,” recalled Yisroel Belinow, who runs the Chabad House here with his wife, Rivky, and his brother, Mendel.
“We had absolutely no intention of complying,” he said.
Instead of laying low, the Belinows that year produced Saint-Denis’ first public community Passover seder, starting an annual tradition. Members of this besieged congregation say it succeeded because it reflects their unity in the face of rising anti-Semitic violence.
Smart or Stupid
If police tell you to lay ow, are you being smart or stupid to ignore?
Would a rov tell you to listen to the experts or to your stomach?
Who takes achrayis if someone is injured?
I know “shomer psaim Hashem”, Hashem guards fools, but everything has a shiyur, even utter foolishness.
Ain somchin al haness – you can’t rely on a ness. For the three firebombs there were nissim that no one hurt, don’t you think “kotonti” – the zchusim were used up.
Ezra
The attacks referenced in the article were in January 2009. Seven years have passed since then; had there been further attacks, you would have heard of them.