Vandals chop down tree honoring Jewish man tortured and killed in antisemitic attack

French leaders are condemning vandals who chopped down a tree honoring a Jewish man who was kidnapped and tortured for over three weeks before dying on the way to a hospital.

In 2006, a group that called itself the "Gang of Barbarians," led by Youssouf Fofana, kidnapped Ilan Halimi, a 23-year-old Jewish man. For more than three weeks, Halimi was held hostage and tortured. Believing an old antisemitic stereotype, Halimi’s captors assumed his family was wealthy and demanded a ransom it could not afford.

At least 27 people participated in Halimi’s abduction and torture, but it is believed that more knew of the crime and did not report it to law enforcement.

On Feb. 13, 2006, Halimi was found naked, handcuffed and barely clinging to life at a train station. He died while being transported to a hospital.

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