For the first time since World War II, Paris Grand Synagogue closed on Shabbat
Hashtags #JeSuisJuif, #JeSuisKouachi trending on Twitter; dozens in Algeria celebrate Paris attacks
"Police forces gather together at the Porte de Vincennes, eastern Paris after a gunman opened fire and took hostages at a kosher grocery store"
Paris' Grand Synagogue was closed for Shabbat services on Saturday following the terror attacks that shook France in recent days.
The synagogue, as well as streets in the historically Jewish neighborhood of the Marais, were closed throughout the attacks by the French police even though both are far from the scene of the violence.
The Orthodox Union told the The Jerusalem Post that the closing of the synagogue is the first time since World War II that services will not be held on the Jewish Sabbath (Shabbat).
Richard Prasquier, the former president of the Representative Council of Jewish Institutions in France (CRIF), in an interview with i24news on Friday said that "the hostage taking in Vincennes is the translation of a veritable war."
Francis Kalifat, the vice president of CRIF, also spoke to i24news. He confirmed that French police had strengthened the protection of Jewish institutions such as schools and synagogues following Wednesday’s attack on Charlie Hebdo. Community organizations have received instructions from the French authorities urging them to strengthen their vigilance. However, he says, it is obviously not possible to protect every Jewish business.
-Dozens in Algeria celebrate Paris attacks-
Twitter
Twitter
""#JeSuisKouachi and in France a thousand Kouachis are waiting for the right moment to appear""
Meanwhile, several dozen men in the Belouizidad district of Algiers gathered outside a mosque shouting anti-Semitic slogans to celebrate the attacks on the Charlie Hebdo magazine which left 12 dead in Paris on Wednesday, the news site tamurt.info reported on Thursday.
The group shouted “strike France and the Jews,” “Allah is the greatest” and “Charlie is dead.”
Other celebrations were reported in Algiers by tamurt.info, including a dance party on the street near the Djamaa Lihoud mosque.
Meanwhile on Twitter the hashtag #JeSuisCharlie was reported to be the most popular hashtag in the history of the social media site. The hashtag was at its height following the end of the drama, tweeted at a rate of 6,500 times a minute, and tweeted 3.4 million times in just one day.
The hashtags #JeSuisJuif, #JeSuisAhmed and #JeSuisHumain were also trending on twitter following the attacks, showing solidarity for the victims.
Islamists and jihadists were celebrating the attacks with the hashtag #JeSuisKouachi, referring to the two brothers responsible for the Charlie Hebdo attack.
http://www.i24news.tv/en/news/international/europe/57259-150110-for-the-first-time-since-world-war-2-paris-grand-synagogue-closed-on-shabbat
