Israeli airline splashes Paris offices with red paint
Vandalism at El Al’s Paris Office Sparks International Outrage
Red Paint Echoes “Barbaric Act” Amid Rising Tensions
Last night, the El Al office in Paris was marked by streaks of red paint and anti‑Israel slogans. Protesters painted “Free Palestine” and “El Al Genocide Airline” onto the building façade and the surrounding pavement, a display that the airline’s transport ministry condemned as a “barbaric and violent act.”
Israel’s Response and French Investigation
- Transport Minister Miri Regev demanded that French authorities locate the vandals and take “strong action.”
- El Al’s ambassador Joshua Zarka called the vandalism an “act of terrorism” aimed at terrorising employees and Israeli citizens.
- The French Transport Minister Philippe Tabarot denounced the vandalism as “acts of hatred and antisemitism” with no place in France.
Legal Actions and Context
Paris’s public prosecutor’s office opened an investigation into property damage committed on grounds of race, ethnicity, nationality, or religion. The case follows earlier June incidents where Jewish sites in Paris were sprayed green paint, leading to arrests of three Serbs suspected of acting for a foreign power, possibly Russia.
Background and Ongoing Conflict
Since the October 2023 attack by Hamas—which killed 1,219 people, most civilians—a civilian casualty toll in Gaza rose to at least 61,258, a figure considered reliable by the United Nations. The Israeli offensive has left 49 hostages still held in Gaza, including 27 the military reports as dead.
El Al proudly displays the Israeli flag on the tail of its aircraft and condemns all forms of violence, particularly those based on anti‑Semitism, adding that the incident occurred while the building was empty and posed no danger to employees.
