French parliamentary commission to investigate antisemitic murder of Sarah Halimi

It has been announced that a French Parliamentary commission of inquiry will be established in order to investigate the murder of Sarah Halimi.

In 2017, Ms Halimi, a 65-year-old Jewish woman, was murdered by her 27-year-old Muslim neighbour, Kobili Traoré, after he tortured her before pushing her out of a window to her death.

Mr Traoré was said to have yelled “Allah Akbar,” “I killed the shaitan,” which is an Arabic word for ‘devil’ or ‘demon’, along with antisemitic vitriol.

The welcome news was announced on 2nd June by the Union of Democrats and Independents (UDI), a centrist, liberal political party in France. French law states that each political party is allowed one chance per year to form a commission of inquiry, and the UDI has used their opportunity to investigate the murder of Sarah Halimi.

French-Israeli UDI member Meyer Habib was elected to form the commission. Mr Habib, a French Parliamentarian, said: “I’m thrilled to announce that in a few weeks, a Parliamentary commission of inquiry will be formed to look into the deficiencies surrounding the case of Sarah Halimi. The UDI party chose the proposal I submitted, in order to shed light on the affair. I will do…everything in my power to expose the truth.”

In April, France’s Court of Cassation ruled that Sarah Halimi’s killer could not be held to stand trial due to being high on cannabis whilst committing the murder. Last month, the Mayor of Paris has announced that a street in the French capital will be named for Ms Halimi, while the Jewish community has also called for action to be taken against a Facebook group created to support her murderer.

Campaign Against Antisemitism held a rally in solidarity with French Jews in opposition to the Court of Cassation’s ruling to let Sarah Halimi’s murderer go free.

The rally took place outside the French Embassy in Knightsbridge, with protesters holding placards bearing the words “J’accuse! Solidarity with French Jews” and “Je Suis Sarah Halimi”. Due to COVID-19 restrictions, attendance was by registration only, with all places taken within 24 hours of our announcing the rally, with a significant waiting-list. A further 10,000 supporters demanding justice for Sarah Halimi watched the event across Campaign Against Antisemitism’s social media channels.

The rally in London was part of a global movement of rallies in Paris, Marseille and other French cities, Tel Aviv, New York City, Miami and Los Angeles.

Campaign Against Antisemitism has expanded our coverage of antisemitism worldwide. Please contact us if you would like to share feedback or volunteer to assist with this project.