Two arrested after tree planted in memory of murdered French Jew cut down

The felling of an olive tree planted in memory of Ilan Halimi led to widespread anger in France earlier this month

French police have arrested two people in connection to the destruction of a tree in Paris planted in memory of a Jewish man murdered in a brutal antisemitic attack.

Parisian prosecutors confirmed on Wednesday that twin brothers, of Tunisian nationality, had been taken into custody, weeks after the cutting down of an olive tree planted in 2011 in the memory of Ilan Halimi. There was widespread anger in France after the felling of the tree earlier this month, with French President Emanuel Macron describing it as “an attempt to kill him [Halimi] a second time”

In 2006, Halimi, a 23-year old mobile phone salesman, was lured to an apartment block in a Paris slum, where he was abducted and held hostage by a gang calling themselves ‘The Barbarians’ who reportedly believed that all Jews were wealthy and that they could therefore extract a ransom from his family. Halimi’s family, who were not wealthy, contacted the police. Halimi was repeatedly tortured during a three week period, eventually being dumped on a road in a southern Parisian suburb. Unable to speak when found, he died on the way to the hospital. In what would become a pattern, French authorities initially refused to acknowledge an antisemitic element in the crimes committed against Halimi.

Yonathan Arfi, President of Le Crif (Conseil Représentatif des Institutions Juives de France), described how the cutting down of the tree planted in Halimi’s memory was “not just another antisemitic act. It is a way for antisemites to scream their hatred, telling Jews: ‘we are here more than ever!’

“Nearly 20 years ago, the antisemites of the “gang of barbarians” kidnapped, held captive, tortured, and murdered Ilan Halimi. What kind of hatred must drive someone to cut down an olive tree planted in his honour today? The barbarity of those who desecrate his memory is no better than that of those who took his life. The antisemites of today are no better than those of yesterday.”