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Teen, Who Brutally Attacked French Shliach, Sentenced to 16 Months in Prison

The 16-year-old assailant, who attacked Rabbi Aryeh Engelberg, the Rebbe’s Shliach and Chief Rabbi of Orléans, France, was sentenced to 16 months in prison by the juvenile court on Wednesday, after a long day of hearings • Full Story, Video

By Chabadinfo

As previously reported by Chabadinfo, the attack occurred as Rabbi Engelberg and his son were returning home from Shachris at the Shul, about 110 kilometers (about 70 miles) south of Paris. The assailant approached them and violently struck the Chief Rabbi with punches and kicks before biting his shoulder while shouting slurs and anti-Semitic curses. The attack only ceased when bystanders intervened.

Following the incident, Rabbi Engelberg filed a police report, leading to the suspect’s arrest, a 16-year-old male with no prior criminal record. The local prosecutor’s office charged the suspect with “intentional violence due to the victim’s religious affiliation.”

At the time, the anti-Semitic attack drew widespread condemnation from French officials and Jewish organizations. Just two days after the assault, more than 1,000 people marched in Orleans in support of Rabbi Engelberg and the Jewish community. French President Emmanuel Macron condemned the attack on X/Twitter: “The attack on Rabbi Arié Engelberg in Orléans shocks us all. I offer him, his son, and all our fellow citizens of the Jewish faith my full support and that of the nation… Anti-Semitism is poison. We will not give in to silence or inaction.”

A delegation of French Shluchim traveled to Orléans to uplift Rabbi Engelberg and his family in the wake of the shocking attack. Their visit was marked by words of encouragement, heartfelt prayers, a lively Farbrengen, dancing, and a strong message of unity in the face of rising anti-Semitism.

Shluchim support Rabbi Engelberg after the attack

After the teenager was arrested, he told investigators that he was Palestinian, but later said during a hearing it was revealed that he was Moroccan and 16 years old. According to his lawyer, the teenager arrived less than a year ago in France, where he has no family.

On Wednesday, he was given a 12-month sentence for the attack, as well as additional time in prison for other cases, including refusing to undergo police testing while in custody and possession of illegal narcotics after being found with two grams of cannabis resin. He was also ordered to remain in detention and banned for five years from the Loiret district where the assault occurred.

As he arrived in court on Wednesday, Rabbi Engelberg said that a strong response from the judiciary was needed. “In a democracy like France, you have a right not to be attacked,” he said.

“We have encountered a person who has denied any responsibility,” said Rabbi Engelberg’s lawyer, Isabelle Abreu, criticizing the assailants’ attitude of “denying everything” after several hours of a closed-door trial.

Accompanying Engelberg to the hearing was Andre Druon, president of the Jewish community of Orleans, who said the attacker “blamed everything on the rabbi” during the hearing. He added after the verdict, “The attacker expressed no form of regret or compassion.”

“I have a community and a family to take care of, we have no choice but to move forward, and we do so with our heads held high,” Rabbi Engelberg said, recalling that he had defended himself against his attacker: “I decided to act and I pushed his telephone away”. His attacker then “started punching, and I was forced to protect myself.”