April 30, 2021 12:12 pm Noémie Halioua, an author and journalist, on Sarah Halimi: The woman who always remained hidden has become the face of her community. (Hannah Assouline/Editions du Cerf)
Advertisement
PARIS (JTA) The fallout of a French court’s decision in the Sarah Halimi murder case has become a watershed moment for French Jews.
The 31-year-old devout Muslim who killed the Jewish doctor is avoiding a trial because his consumption of marijuana rendered him temporarily psychotic at the time of the murder in 2017, France’s high court ruled earlier this month.
Critics say the judicial system is overlooking an antisemitic hate crime the man reportedly shouted about Allah during his attack on Halimi. Over 20,000 people protested the ruling on Sunday in Paris, symbolizing the swell of frustration, and smaller protest rallies occurred simultaneously in at least three other French cities and elsewhere around the world. The debate about the