Rabbi Ye’hia Lahiany and his family, devoted shluchim in Grenoble, France, had their home destroyed in an antisemitic arson attack.
By Rachel Avraham
A rabbi and his family’s apartment in Grenoble, France, was completely destroyed in an arson attack, the Jerusalem Post reported. Rabbi Ye’hia Lahiany and his family are devoted Shluchim in Grenoble, France for over 45 years. Rabbi Yhia Lahiani and Rebbetzin Batcheva Lahiani had left for a special celebratory meal at the synagogue with the rest of their family when, less than 10 minutes later, three successive explosions were heard in the apartment, according to the report.
There is nothing left of the family’s home, the Jerusalem Post added. According to Chabad Jewish community news, “in just moments, a lifetime was reduced to ashes — furniture, Tefilin, clothing, appliances, Seforim, Torah books, family heirlooms… everything is gone. Baruch Hashem, the family miraculously escaped unharmed, but they are now left homeless, along with their beloved son Maïmon, who lives with a disability.” Chabad said that the family is now begging for charity to survive, as their home was left uninhabitable.
Authorities found traces of kerosene and other accelerants in the garden, confirming the fire was intentionally set, Vin News reported. According to the report, the blast injured 11 people, including eight firefighters and three police officers, and displaced residents of 15 surrounding apartments.
Their daughter, Sarah Perets Lahiani, told Radio Shalom, “Someone tried to murder my family. Ten minutes before the house exploded, my sister and her baby and my other sister were there,” she said, calling the fact that they were in synagogue and not at home “a miracle.” She told Vin News that it was for sure an antisemitic attack: “I don’t call it anything else. This is an antisemitic act.” She expressed fear that, unlike in places like Los Angeles where antisemitism is openly named, in France there is a tendency to silence such incidents. “That’s what scares me,” she said.
Sarah added that the mayor and the president of the CRIF (Representative Council of Jewish Institutions in France), Eric Hattab, have acknowledged the attack’s deliberate nature. She warned, “This is getting worse and worse… They’re not just attacking Jews as unacceptable; they are trying to kill them. Setting fire to a house at lunchtime—tell me if I’m wrong, but what is the intention here?”
“My parents have lived in Grenoble for over 45 years,” Sarah told the Jerusalem Post. “Mostly, they had lived without any issues. October 7 changed this. After October 7, it wasn’t ‘Rabbi Jacob’ anymore, it was ‘Jewish bastard. My father had his car tires slashed multiple times to the point where he had to park his car in front of the house because he didn’t trust the parking lot anymore. My mother, of course, had cameras around the school. We caught a young man several times with a gun, firing at the school. We even had people yelling – I experienced this myself when I went to visit them – and shouting ‘Palestine, Gaza.’ And just after the fire, some young people passed by again, shouting ‘Jewish bastard.’ The authorities still want to play the game, claiming it’s not so serious, that it’s an accident. First, you insult, then you slash the tires, then you try to break into the house, and eventually, the house explodes.”
Photo from i24NEWS Français: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5P36QZ7JCyI
