Jewish man attacked with machete in Marseille

A Jewish man used his Torah as a shield as he was attacked with a machete by an assailant shouting “Allahu Akhbar” in the southern French city of Marseille on Monday morning. 

The man  identified only as Benjamin A, was wearing a kippah when he was attacked, but suffered only minor injuries to his head and arm. 

The attack occurred in front of a municipal building in a busy district in daylight, and photos posted online showed the boy’s leather-bound Torah with blood stains and deep knife marks.

French news publication Le Figaro reported an unnamed police source who said the attacker – arrested shortly after fleeing the scene – was “probably mentally ill.”