French police have launched an investigation after antisemitic graffiti and death threats were discovered on the Grenoble offices of the Representative Council of Jewish Institutions of France (CRIF) and on the campaign office of a local Jewish political candidate, reports Jewish Breaking News.
The graffiti, found early on Thursday, included threats such as “A slow and painful death to every member of the CRIF,” alongside messages reading “F** the CRIF”* and “Goy Power.” Investigators are examining nearby CCTV footage, though no arrests have yet been made.
CRIF President Yonathan Arfi condemned the threats, warning they reflect a growing and dangerous normalisation of antisemitism in France.
“Hatred against Jews has become widespread,” Arfi wrote on X. “We will not let anyone intimidate the Jewish community in France.”
Hervé Gerbi, a city council candidate and former head of CRIF Grenoble whose campaign office was also vandalised, described the graffiti as “an attempt to intimidate” the local Jewish community. Grenoble’s mayor, Eric Piolle, expressed outrage, saying he was “deeply shocked” and urging citizens to confront antisemitism “with all our strength, without respite.”
The incident comes amid a sharp rise in antisemitic acts across France since the outbreak of the Israel–Hamas war nearly two years ago. According to the Anti-Defamation League, reported antisemitic incidents in France have increased by more than 74% in the past year, fuelled by political unrest and online radicalisation.
Recent attacks include a knife threat at a Jewish daycare in Paris, the assault of a Jewish woman in her Lyon home, and the uncovering of a plot to bomb 20 Jewish schools across the Paris region.
Local CRIF head Eric Hattab warned that many younger Jews are now considering emigration as a result of the escalating hostility.
“Today we hide our Jewish identity — no one wears a kippah anymore, we remove the mezuzah, we avoid being recognised,” Hattab told France Bleu Isère radio. “Entering a synagogue wondering if there will be an attack is unprecedented and unbearable.”
With approximately 440,000 Jews, France remains home to Europe’s largest Jewish population. Yet, shockingly, French Jews are now three times more likely per capita to experience an antisemitic attack than Jews in the United States, highlighting the depth of the crisis facing the community.
Photo Credit: CRIF/X
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