When the highest French court of appeals ruled last week that the murderer of Sarah Halimi could not be held criminally accountable for his actions since he took cannabis before he committed the crime, the French Jewish community was appalled, and shocked. So were Jews around the world.
Several Jewish organizations plan to protest the ruling next Sunday at Paris’s Place Du Trocadero. Numerous cities in France and around the world followed the lead, organizing marches and protests on Sunday in contestation of such a decision so that Justice can be done for Halimi.
In April 2017, Kobili Traoré, a 27-year-old Muslim man, beat Halimi, his 65-year-old Jewish neighbor, while screaming "Allahu Akbar" (God is great) and antisemitic slogans before throwing her out of the window of her third-floor apartment to her death.
Following the shock, many leaders of the French Jewish community decided to take action.
Attorneys Gilles-William Goldnadel and Francis Szpiner, the family's lawyers, announced on Wednesday that they wanted to "take a complaint to the Israeli courts against Traoré on the behalf of Esther Lekover, the sister of the victim," who is an Israeli citizen.
Suite à l’arrêt consternant écartant toute sanction pénale contre l’assassin de #SarahHalimi je saisis avec @fszpiner la justice israélienne d’une plainte vsTraoré au nom d’Esther ,sœur de Sarah et citoyenne israélienne. La loi de ce pays étant compétente.Non au déni de Justice.
— G-William Goldnadel (@GWGoldnadel) April 21, 2021
Israel's criminal law may apply to antisemitic crimes committed abroad and denounced by an Israeli citizen, which is the case with their client, Ms Lekover.
However, France does not extradite its nationals.Even French President Emmanuel Macron reacted to the ruling, calling for a change in the law after the highest French court of appeals last week ruled the murderer of Sarah Halimi could not be held criminally accountable for his actions since he took cannabis before he committed the crime.
“Deciding to take drugs and then ‘becoming mad’ should not in my eyes remove your criminal responsibility,” Macron told Le Figaro in an interview published Sunday.
“On this topic, I would like the minister of justice to submit a change to the law as soon as possible,” he said.
“It is not for me to comment on a court decision, but I would like to tell the family, relatives of the victim and all fellow citizens of the Jewish faith who were awaiting this trial of my warm support and the determination of the Republic to protect them,” Macron said.