Behind the well-stocked stall of her kosher butcher shop, located in the heart of Créteil, in Val-de-Marne, Séverine continues to serve her customers with a smile. The mother of the family whispers a kind word to everyone, asks for news of loved ones, slips a packet of Shabbat candles between the carefully wrapped meats. Close shop? Not even in dreams. “We are afraid, of course, but we are not going to stop living,” says the shopkeeper. Five days after the Hamas attack, the store is always full – men proudly wearing their yarmulkes come to do their shopping while exchanging some news, mothers extend the afternoon by chatting in front of the window. But the same questions are on everyone’s lips. What will happen in the days to come for the Jewish community in France? Fears of attacks, after Hamas launched a call on Friday for its supporters around the world to participate in “a day of rage”, were on people’s minds? Should you wear a kippah in the street, and if so, where? Should you take the metro? Go out to public places? Hanging out in front of places of worship? Should we even take the children to the Ozar Hatorah Jewish school, which welcomes more than 1,500 students in Créteil?
“I forbade my two teenagers from taking transport,” says Séverine. To lighten the mood, she says that her son, who had just obtained his driving license, even tried to take advantage of the situation by asking to borrow the family car. The customers give a slight smile. “You have to try to laugh about it, if you don’t want to get depressed,” says the owner of the place. A friend tells her that her children skipped school Thursday and Friday. One client agrees: after having discussed it at length with his wife, it was agreed that the whole family would stay at home. In question ? Rumors of collective attacks against Jews on social networks, the “hundred anti-Semitic acts” and the “more than 2,000 reports to Pharos” mentioned by the Minister of the Interior Gérald Darmanin, or even the violence of the comments read on the Internet under the videos of the massacre in Israel.
Messages about the organization of a possible pro-Palestinian demonstration in Créteil, exchanged within a private discussion of students from the University of Paris-Est de Créteil (UPEC), also caused a wind of panic on the Jewish community. On the screenshots of some of these exchanges, sent to the local office of the Union of Jewish Students of France (UEJF) and which L’Express was able to consult, a participant mentions the idea of passing in front of the Jewish school , located a few meters from the campus. In a few hours, the information circulated throughout town. “We don’t know exactly what is planned or not, but frankly, when we hear that, no one is reassured,” regrets Séverine.
Asked about the question, the president of the Jewish community of Créteil Albert Elharrar wants to calm things down. “This demonstration did not take place, the person behind the messages was found: it was a young person who apologized. The Territorial Directorate of Local Security [DTSP] of Val-de-Marne is widely mobilized in Créteil, and I completely trust them on the issue”, insists the representative. Contacted by L’Express, neither the management of UPEC nor the police headquarters responded to our requests.
To reassure parents, volunteers from the Israeli Cultural Association of Créteil (ACIC), for their part, hold various information WhatsApp groups, and remind people that security around schools and synagogues is at “its maximum”. “The slightest proven anti-Semitic act has been reported, we are in extremely close contact with the prefecture” indicates Albert Elharrar, who notably mentions a report to the police following insults uttered to a member of the Jewish community in front of the Ozar school Hatorah Tuesday October 11. “The report was taken into account immediately, we will not let anything pass,” he specifies.
“I advise my students to be discreet”
Within the Jewish community of Créteil, one of the largest in Ile-de-France, the administrative representative highlights the work carried out over several decades to maintain “living together”. “Here, we have been multiplying inter-faith meetings for years, each religious representative is invited to each other’s celebrations… The fight so that this fraternity and this spirit of peace persist is our priority,” underlines Albert Elharrar. Rabbi Haïm Mellul, religious leader of the Beth Lubavitch synagogue in Créteil, agrees. “We have very good relations with other communities, including the Muslim community. All the rabbis have frequent and more than cordial relations with the imam of Créteil, there are no difficulties on this subject.”
In the student environment, Jérémie, president of the UEJF of UPEC, also indicates that he works every day “on a certain mediation” between the students. “I discuss a lot about my religion, its origin, why I do or not do certain things, why we must avoid amalgamations, for example linking the Jewish religion with all of Israel’s political decisions,” he lists. The UEJF also implements certain actions, such as “Sukkot explained to our friends”, which consists of introducing other students to this Jewish holiday. “We share a meal, it’s very warm,” says Jérémie.
At the mention of the attacks of October 7, the young man sighs. “My first reaction was terror, obviously. And then, I wholeheartedly hoped that it would not spoil all the work we do on a daily basis to avoid preconceived ideas and confusion,” confides- he. Questioned in front of one of the UPEC campuses, crowded with students at lunch break, he lowers his voice himself, finds a quieter place to discuss: “At the moment, the simple fact to mention the words Israel, Zionism, Palestine, Hamas, can turn heads. I sometimes have the impression that I am taken for an ambassador of Israel, which I am not: I am exhausted from having to justify acts and political decisions as if it were I who took them. Among some of his comrades, the anxiety is there: since Monday, Jérémie claims to have received several messages from Jewish students, asking him for advice on the subject of wearing the kippah in public spaces or the attitude to adopt when subject of the conflict.
“Personally, I advise my students to be discreet, especially at the moment. Do not wear distinctive signs outside, keep the yarmulke under a cap, for example,” confides David, a teacher at the Ozar school. Hatorah of Créteil. But the worry ends there: he himself, for example, wants to wear his kippah that morning, in front of the establishment. “In Créteil, I never had a feeling of anti-Semitism or insecurity. Many friends, including Muslims, sent me messages of kind support. So as long as there is nothing concrete to report in the area, I live my life, I wear my yarmulke, and I trust the police. Every morning and every evening, the man appreciates the “dissuasive” presence of police officers to monitor the comings and goings around the building – itself surrounded by high gray walls, several cameras and an automatic gate which does not open. opens only to admit staff and students.
“I’m clearly not at peace”
In the surrounding businesses, frequented by the Jewish community, the same reactions keep coming back. A latent worry, questions about the many rumors circulating, a distrust of each look or unexpected presence. There is this medical student who recounts the family debates around the wearing of tzitsits in the public space – these strips hung around the waist, distinctive signs of the Jewish community -, these onlookers who, worried, ask to see our health card. press before confiding, this young girl who accompanies her mother to do her shopping at the city’s Hypercasher. “I’m clearly not at peace, you never know what could happen. I didn’t want to leave her alone,” she says, angrily reporting the “dirty Jew” heard by friends on the way out. from the synagogue last weekend, or the sadness that inhabits him when reading certain comments on social networks.
“I go from home to work, I do a few errands, no more. I typically don’t plan to hang out at the mall this weekend,” adds another customer, disappointed. A teacher in a kindergarten class at the Ozar Hatorah school, she claims to have only welcomed 17 children out of 27 on Thursday morning. “People are worried, some children are well aware that something is not normal is happening. We reassure them as best we can,” she explains. In this tense context, the city’s mayor (PS), Laurent Cathala, wants to be extremely clear. “We are following the precise instructions of the prefecture to protect places of worship and schools, which are closely monitored by the national police. The security services of the town hall also carry out rounds,” he specifies. In the meantime, the elected official calls for a “clear and transparent” political discourse on the situation: “Terrorist acts must be qualified as such and forcefully condemned”. Asked about the ambiguity of the elected officials of La France insoumise (LFI) on the subject of the terrorist acts perpetrated by Hamas, Laurent Cathala thus evokes “a dramatic political position”, and recalls being “favorable to the exit of the Nupes PS”.