An olive tree planted in memory of a young French Jewish man tortured to death in 2006 was vandalized and cut down this week, sparking outrage in France amid a troubling surge in antisemitic attacks.

In January 2006, Ilan Halimi was abducted, held captive, and tortured by a gang of about 20 people in a low-income housing estate in the Paris suburb of Bagneux.

Three weeks later, Halimi was found in Essonne, south of Paris, naked, gagged, and handcuffed, with clear signs of torture and burns. The 23-year-old died on the way to the hospital.

In 2011, an olive tree was planted in Halimi’s memory. On Friday, this memorial was found felled — probably with a chainsaw — in the northern Paris suburb of Epinay-sur-Seine.

Halimi’s memory has faced attacks before, with two other trees planted in his honor vandalized in 2019 in Essonne, where he was found dying near a railway track.

French officials have pledged to plant a new tree following the latest attack, which has drawn condemnation from the country’s local Jewish community amid a troubling rise in antisemitic acts.

French President Emmanuel Macron has condemned the incident, vowing that the perpetrators will be brought to justice while affirming that France’s fight against antisemitism will remain “uncompromising.”

“Felling the tree in honor of Ilan Halimi is a second attempt on his life. This will not happen: the nation will not forget this son of France who died for being Jewish,” the French leader said in a post on X.

Abattre l’arbre rendant hommage à Ilan Halimi, c’est chercher à le tuer une deuxième fois. Il n’en sera rien : la Nation n’oubliera pas cet enfant de France mort parce que Juif.

Tous les moyens sont déployés pour punir cet acte de haine.

Face à l’antisémitisme : la République,…

— Emmanuel Macron (@EmmanuelMacron) August 15, 2025

Authorities have opened a criminal investigation into the incident, with Paris police confirming that inquiries are underway.

French Prime Minister François Bayrou denounced the incident, calling the tree “a living bulwark against oblivion.”

“The never-ending fight against the deadly poison of hatred is our primary duty,” Bayrou said in a post on X.

French Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau also condemned the antisemitic attack, saying that “this act can only provoke disgust and anger.”

France’s Jewish community has faced a troubling surge in antisemitic incidents and anti-Israel sentiment since the Hamas-led invasion of and massacre across southern Israel on Oct.7, 2023.

Jewish leaders have consistently called on authorities to take swift action against the rising wave of targeted attacks and anti-Jewish hate crimes they continue to face.

Yonathan Arfi, president of the Representative Council of Jewish Institutions in France (CRIF), denounced this latest incident, declaring that “today’s antisemites are no better than those of yesterday.”

“This is not just another antisemitic act. It is a way for antisemites to shout their hatred toward Jews, saying: ‘We are here more than ever!’” Arfi said in a post on X.

Ce n’est pas qu’un acte antisémite de plus. C’est une manière pour les antisémites de hurler leur haine en disant aux Juifs : “nous sommes là plus que jamais !”

Il y a bientôt 20 ans, les antisémites du “gang des barbares” ont enlevé, séquestré, torturé et assassiné Ilan Halimi.… pic.twitter.com/a9LPg5C8sz

— Yonathan Arfi (@Yonathan_Arfi) August 14, 2025

Israel’s ambassador to France, Joshua Zarka, condemned the attack, calling it a “shameful desecration” and denouncing those responsible.

“It’s clear that condemnations will pour in and outrage will be widespread, but who will truly reflect on the forces that led to this new act of barbarity?” Zarka said in a post on X.

“Antisemitism is a sign of a sick society, and in Europe today it has surged to levels reminiscent of nearly a century ago,” he continued. “May our departed rest in peace, and may those wounded by this brutality find healing.”

L’olivier en mémoire d’Ilan Halimi a été tronçonné.
Choc. Incompréhension.

Il est clair que les condamnations vont pleuvoir, l’indignation sera totale, mais qui réfléchira vraiment aux chemins qui ont mené à cette nouvelle barbarie ?

L’antisémitisme est le symptôme d’une… pic.twitter.com/A53V6mFsTJ

— Joshua L. Zarka (@yzarka) August 14, 2025

Europe’s governing body of soccer UEFA announced on Friday the launch of disciplinary proceedings against Maccabi Haifa after fans of the Israeli team displayed an anti-Polish banner at a UEFA Conference League qualifying match against Poland’s Raków Częstochowa.

Maccabi Haifa is being charged with “transmitting a message not fit for (a) sports event” and “improper conduct.” Meanwhile, Raków Częstochowa is being charged with the lighting of fireworks and also displaying a message “not fit for [a] sports event.” The UEFA said its disciplinary bodies “will decide on the matter in due course.”

During Thursday’s match, which was played at the Nagyerdei Stadion in Debrecen, Hungary, for security reasons, some fans of Maccabi Haifa in the stands held a large banner that said in English “Murderers since 1939,” seemingly referencing the Holocaust and the atrocities committed in Nazi-occupied Poland. Germany invaded Poland in 1939, and more than 3 million Polish Jews were subsequently killed during the Holocaust, as well as 3 million non-Jewish citizens.

A week earlier, during a match on Aug. 7 between Maccabi Haifa and Rakow Częstochowa in Czestochowa, Poland, fans of the latter team displayed a banner that said in Polish: “Israel Murders and the World Is Silent.”

Poland’s Sports Minister Jakub Rutnicki sent a letter to the UEFA requesting “the imposition of severe penalties” against Maccabi Haifa following Thursday’s incident, and Cezary Kulesza, the president of the Polish Football Association, called on UEFA to penalize the Israeli team because of the “scandalous banner and outrageous behavior.”

“There’s no consensus for provocations and falsifying history,” Kulesza said. Polish government spokesperson Adam Szłapka noted that Poland expects “a clear reaction from UEFA.”

The “scandalous” banner “insults the memory of Polish citizens – victims of World War Two, including 3 million Jews,” Polish President Karol Nawrocki wrote in a post on X. “Stupidity that no words can justify.”

Deputy Prime Minister Krzysztof Gawkowski called the actions “a distortion of history” and the Israeli Embassy in Warsaw condemned the “disgusting behavior” displayed by Maccabi Haifa fans. “There is no place for such words and actions, from any side, neither at the stadium nor anywhere else. Never!” the embassy said in a post on X. “These shameful incidents do not reflect the spirit of the majority of Israeli fans.”

Poland’s Interior Minister Marcin Kierwiński said, “Anti-Polonism and the outrageous distortion of Polish history by Israeli hooligans require strong condemnation. There is no, and will never be, agreement to such shameful practices.”

Raków Częstochowa won Thursday’s match 2-0 and advanced to the playoff round of qualification for the 2025 UEFA Conference League. They will face Bulgaria’s Arda Kardzhali on Aug. 21.

Also on Thursday, the UEFA was criticized for preventing the family of Hamas hostage and Israeli teenager Rom Braslavski from displaying signs calling for his release at Beitar Jerusalem’s match against Riga in a Conference League qualifier in Bucharest, Romania. The banners featured Braslavski’s photo and the messages, “I am asking for my brother,” “Bring back Rom,” and “The voice of my brother’s blood is calling to me from the tunnels – Bring Rom and the rest of our hostages home,” according to Ynet.

The incident happened after UEFA invited two children from the Gaza Strip to participate in the medal ceremony at the UEFA Super Cup final in Udine, Italy, and had several refugee children display a banner that read: “Stop killing children – Stop killing civilians.”

California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) has called for Harvard University President Alan Garber to resign, citing reports that the chief executive is heading toward a deal with the Trump administration that would restore federal funding to Harvard in exchange for the school’s agreeing to conservative demands for addressing campus antisemitism and shuttering diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs.

“You don’t work with Donald Trump — only FOR Donald Trump,” Newsom posted on Tuesday, writing on X. “Looks like Harvard has chosen to surrender. Alan Garber must resign. An absolute failure of leadership that will have demonstrable impacts to higher education across our country. He should be ashamed.”

He added, “California will never bend the knee.”

Newsom’s remarks followed a series of reports by The New York Times which said that Garber is prepared to shell out $500 million or more to settle Harvard’s dispute with the Trump administration, which began when it impounded over $3 billion in federal research contracts and grants from the institution’s coffers as punishment for its alleged refusal to quell antisemitic activity and discrimination on campus. US President Donald Trump has said Harvard will regain access to federal money if it agrees to a wishlist of policy reforms that Republican lawmakers have long argued will make higher education more meritocratic and less welcoming to anti-Zionists and far-left extremists.

In a letter to Harvard — which Garber later released it to the public — the Trump administration called for “viewpoint diversity in hiring and admissions,” the “discontinuation of [diversity, equity, and inclusion, or DEI, initiatives],” and “reducing forms of governance bloat.” It also implored Harvard to begin “reforming programs with egregious records of antisemitism” and to recalibrate its approach to “student discipline.”

According to reports, Garber has told faculty that he will not settle and has resolved to continue on fighting the federal government in court even as Harvard faces a $1 billion budget shortfall caused by the confiscation of funds. Amid this cash crunch Harvard has resorted to leveraging its immense wealth to borrow exorbitant sums of money. In March it issued over $450 million in bonds as “part of an ongoing contingency planning for a range of financial circumstances.” It offered another $750 million in bonds to investors in April, a sale that is being managed by Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley.

According to the Harvard Crimson, Garber has insisted that the Times reporting is erroneous.

“In a conversation with one faculty member, [he] said that the suggestion that Harvard was open to paying $500 million is ‘false’ and claimed that the figure was apparently leaked to the press by White House officials,” the Crimson said, noting that the Times believes its reporting is on the mark. “In any discussions, Garber reportedly said, the university is treating academic freedom as nonnegotiable.”

Garber’s apparent assurances to faculty that the university will not concede to Trump for financial relief came as it took conciliatory steps that seem aimed at reversing an impression that it is doctrinally far left, as well as anti-Zionist. In July, it announced new partnerships with Israeli academic institutions and closed its DEI offices, transferring their staff to other sections of the university. These moves came after it “paused” a partnership in March with a higher education institution located in the West Bank. Some reports, according to the Crimson, suggest that Harvard may even found a “new conservative research institute.”

Newsom, whose name has been floated as a potential candidate for president in 2028, has emerged as a vocal opponent of Trump’s efforts to reform higher education, describing, for example, the administration’s cancelling $584 million in funding for the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) as “disgusting political extortion.”

However, schools such as Brown University and Columbia University reached a middle ground with the federal government.

In July, Brown University announced that it agreed to pay $50 million and enact a series of reforms put forth by the Trump administration to settle claims involving alleged sex discrimination and antisemitism. The government is rewarding Brown’s propitiating by restoring access to $510 million in federal research grants and contracts it impounded.

Per the agreement, shared by university president Christina Paxson, Brown will provide women athletes locker rooms based on sex, not one’s self-chosen gender identity — a monumental concession by a university that is reputed as one of the most progressive in the country — and adopt the Trump administration’[ definition of “male” and “female,” as articulated in a January 2025 executive order issued by Trump. Additionally, Brown has agreed not to “perform gender reassignment surgery or prescribe puberty blockers or hormones to any minor child for the purpose of aligning the child’s appearance with an identity that differs from his or her sex.”

Regarding campus antisemitism, the agreement calls for Brown University to reduce anti-Jewish bias on campus by forging ties with local Jewish Day Schools, launching “renewed partnerships with Israeli academics and national Jewish organizations,” and boosting support for its Judaic Studies program. Brown must also conduct a “climate survey” of Jewish students to collect raw data of their campus experiences.

Only days before, Columbia University agreed to pay over $200 million to settle claims that it exposed Jewish students, faculty, and staff to antisemitic discrimination and harassment — a deal which secures the release of billions of dollars the Trump administration impounded to pressure the institution to address the issue.

US Secretary of Education Linda McMahon commented on the resolution, saying it is a “seismic shift in our nation’s fight to hold institutions that accept American taxpayer dollars accountable for antisemitic discrimination and harassment.”

Claiming a generational achievement for the conservative movement, which has argued for years that progressive bias in higher education is the cause of anti-Zionist antisemitism on college campuses, she added that Columbia has agreed to “discipline student offenders for severe disruptions of campus operations” and “eliminate race preferences from their hiring and mission practices, and DEI programs that distribute benefits and advantages based on race.”

Follow Dion J. Pierre @DionJPierre.