Paris vandalism targets El Al with 'genocide airline' graffiti amid rising Anti-Israel sentiment in Europe

Israel's national airline, El-Al's office, was vandalised in Paris on Thursday, August 7. The office premises had graffiti markings like 'Free Palestine' and 'El Al genocide airline'. The incident did not result in any injury or violence. According to media reports, the office was not operational at that time. El Al called the act 'deeply disturbing'.

Israeli transportation minister , Miri Regev, condemned the incident, “Today it’s El Al, tomorrow it’s Air France.” Israel's Foreign Ministry labelled the vandalism an anti-Semitic attack. Earlier in August, several reports suggested that France was considering recognition of Palestinian statehood. According to Miri Regev, France's pro-Palestinian stance is fueling these attacks.

French Transport Minister Philippe Tabarot publicly condemned the attack, writing on X (formerly Twitter), “Acts of hatred and anti‑Semitism have no place in our Republic.” A formal hate crime investigation has been launched to investigate the perpetrators of the crime.

These incidents are part of the growing trend of anti-Israel campaigns in France. There had been several instances of protest in France against Israel's war on Gaza by left-wing organisations and movements such as Boycott Divestment and Sanctions. There had been global and cultural protests against the Israeli war and occupation.These protests have been seen globally, from campus occupation in the Netherlands, to Mass demonstrations across Europe and Asia, like in Hague, Paris, Marseille, Toulouse, Rennes, Dhaka in Bangladesh, to name a notable few. There were huge demonstrations at the Tour de France, protests against Cargo shipping giants Maersk to halt military shipments to Israel. At times, these protests turned violent, like the case of El Al, or Kosher restaurant, or the violent murder of two embassy staffers in Washington.

Israel has been engaged in a war with Gaza since the attack on October 7, 2023. This has resulted in lots of death, destruction, drawing widespread international criticism. Today, Israel's security cabinet has approved a plan for the full occupation of the Gaza Strip, which had been rebuked by its allies like the UK and the Netherlands.