France Thinks Star Of David Graffiti Might Be Russian Destabilization Campaign
Why let a crisis go to waste? French authorities have issued statements suggesting that the Russians! were behind what's being dubbed anti-Semitic graffiti which has mysteriously appeared on buildings and residences in Paris neighborhoods and suburbs.
A national broadcaster, France Info radio, issued a report Tuesday saying police are investigating this as a possible destabilization campaign orchestrated by Russia and President Putin.
More than 200 Jewish stars have been spray-painted, which began being observed in late October. They are all identical, and seem connected to the ongoing war in Gaza, given some of them were accompanies by written slogans including, "From the [Mediterranean] Sea to the [Jordan] River, Palestine will be free."
This spraypainted symbols crisis is set amidst broader fears of a rise in suspected attacks targeting Jewish communities across Europe and in the West. There have also been huge anti-Israel protests across major European cities for several weeks.
The Wall Street Journal has picked up on local French reports which point to a couple of foreigners from Eastern Europe as possibly being behind the mystery graffiti:
French prosecutors said Tuesday they are probing whether a person based abroad may be behind the graffiti, after police detained a man and a woman, born in Moldova, who were seen painting a blue Star of David on a building in Paris late last month. Prosecutors said they found a conversation, apparently in Russian, on the couple’s phone in which they were instructed to tag the star in exchange for a payment.
French public prosecutor Laure Beccuau has previously speculated that "It could not be ruled out" that the stars appeared on walls "at the express request of someone living abroad."
Of course, this quickly resulted in dozens of ominous international headlines strongly suggesting this is some sort of Russian intelligence operation, even as Moscow is preoccupied with a grinding, stalemated war in Ukraine.
And yet, these same news articles include statements like the following buried deep within them: "Investigators have said they aren't convinced the graffiti can be classed as antisemitic, but they are concerned about possible Russian meddling at such a sensitive time."
Meanwhile in France: buildings belonging to French Jews in Paris were marked with a Star of David pic.twitter.com/7WGQ7UD6si
— Emily Schrader - אמילי שריידר امیلی شریدر (@emilykschrader) October 31, 2023
The problem with being quick to seize on this narrative is that France has a huge population of Muslims - some of which have made no secret of their disdain for Jews in recent protests. The immense civilian death toll in Gaza has also outraged young demonstrators all over Europe.
Much of the West has for years been gripped by hysteria over Russian meddling. In the popular imagination, Putin! or his intelligence agents are lurking behind every corner, especially when something bad, disruptive, or inexplicable happens.
