Paris police say a 52-year-old Jewish man arrested Monday morning in connection with the Aug. 22 torching of the Judaeo-Spanish social center in the capital\’s 11th district is the principal suspect in the arson.
Within hours of the bombings, which struck trains in the center and suburbs of the Spanish capital on March 11, security was beefed up in cities across the Continent as news of the carnage left Europe as shell-shocked as the United States was on Sept. 11, 2001.
French Jewish leader Roger Cukierman has moderated his tone during the past 12 months — but his message appears largely unaltered.
Jews in France are living \”in a time of malaise,\” Cukierman, president of the CRIF umbrella organization of French Jews, told more than 800 guests at the group\’s annual dinner Saturday.
\”We are deeply shocked, but we are not afraid,\” Serge Berdugo said. \”People here know it is a global fight against the terrorists, the same for Muslims as for Jews. There were no victims from our own community, but this has come like a bolt from the blue.\”
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