Strasbourg Court Rules Anti-Semitic Motive Unproven in Campus Attack

A Strasbourg court has sentenced Melek M., 23, to a four-month suspended prison sentence and ordered her to pay 600 euros in damages to each of three Jewish students. The court acquitted a second defendant, Ines L., due to insufficient evidence. The incident occurred on January 28, 2024, on the University of Strasbourg campus, when the victims were displaying pro-Israel messages and posters calling for the release of Hamas-held hostages. An altercation began when Melek M. confronted one student for filming her. Following a message sent on a Signal group, several masked men arrived and assaulted one male student, Arthur C., and the twin sisters Haya S. and Shterna S. The victims reported being insulted with anti-Semitic slurs. The assailants were never identified. While the investigation initially considered an anti-Semitic motive, it was ultimately dismissed by the prosecution and the court. Prosecutor Guillaume Spindler argued that the evidence supported a political dispute related to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict but did not prove an anti-Semitic motive beyond a reasonable doubt. Jewish organizations, including the Representative Council of Jewish Institutions of France and the European Jewish Organization, sought to have the violence recognized as anti-Semitic but their civil party applications were deemed inadmissible. Melek M. was convicted for her role in instigating the violence, despite not directly participating in the assault. The Union of Jewish Students of France criticized the verdict, asserting the victims were attacked because of their identity and activism, questioning when such acts will be recognized as anti-Semitism. The ruling reignites debate on the legal classification of violence against Jewish individuals in the context of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and the distinction between political hostility, anti-Zionism, and anti-Semitism.