{{short description|2017 killing of a Jewish woman in Paris}} {{Use dmy dates|date=August 2017}} {{Infobox event | title = Killing of Sarah Halimi | partof = | caption = | map = {{Location map|France Paris|lat_deg = 48.869692|lon_deg = 2.377290}} | map_size = 250 | target = | date = {{Start date and age|2017|04|04|df=yes}} | time = 5:30 | location = [[Belleville, Paris]], [[France]] | coordinates = {{coord|48.869692|2.377290|display=inline}} | fatalities = Sarah Halimi | injuries = | suspects = Kobili Traoré }} '''Sarah Halimi''' was a retired French [[physician|doctor]] and [[schoolteacher]] who was attacked and killed in her apartment on 4 April 2017. Circumstances surrounding the killing—including the fact that Halimi was [[Jewish]], and that the assailant (Kobili Traoré) had shouted ''[[Allahu akbar]]'' during the attack and afterward proclaimed "I killed the [[Shaitan]]"—cemented the public perception, particularly among the [[French Jewish]] community, that it was a stark example of [[Antisemitism in 21st-century France|antisemitism in modern France]].
For several months the [[government of France|government]] and some of the media hesitated to label the killing as antisemitic, drawing criticism from public figures such as [[Bernard-Henri Lévy]]. The government eventually acknowledged an antisemitic motivation for the killing. The assailant was declared to be not criminally responsible when the judges ruled he was undergoing a psychotic episode due to [[cannabis]] consumption, as established by an independent psychiatric analysis.<ref>{{Cite news|date=2021-05-02|title=Sarah Halimi: How killer on drugs escaped French trial for anti-Semitic murder|language=en-GB|work=BBC News|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-56929040|access-date=2021-05-15}}</ref> The decision was appealed to the supreme [[Court of Cassation (France)|Court of Cassation]],<ref name=TheiseMay2020>{{cite news|url=https://www.france24.com/en/20200105-hundreds-rally-in-paris-to-seek-justice-for-murdered-jewish-woman-sarah-halimi|work=France24|last=Theise|first=Philippe|title=Hundreds rally in Paris to seek justice for murdered Jewish woman Sarah Halimi|date=2020-05-01|accessdate=2020-06-04}}</ref> who in 2021 upheld the lower court's ruling.<ref name=JTAApril2021>{{cite web|url=https://www.timesofisrael.com/liveblog_entry/french-top-court-rules-against-trying-muslim-who-killed-sarah-halimi/|title=French top court rules against trying Muslim who killed Sarah Halimi|work=The Times of Israel|date=14 April 2021|accessdate=10 May 2021}}</ref>
The killing has been compared to the [[murder of Mireille Knoll]] in the same [[Arrondissements of Paris|arrondissement]] less than a year later, and to the [[murder of Ilan Halimi]] (no relation to Sarah Halimi) eleven years earlier.<ref name="McAuleyTerrorism">{{cite news|last1=McAuley|first1=James|date=23 July 2017|title=In France, murder of a Jewish woman ignites debate over the word 'terrorism'|newspaper=The Washington Post|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/europe/in-france-the-murder-of-a-jewish-woman-ignites-a-debate-over-terrorism/2017/07/23/4c79fe28-6bb9-11e7-abbc-a53480672286_story.html|url-status=live|accessdate=29 August 2017|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20190617230056/https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/europe/frances-jewish-leaders-raise-the-alarm-over-brutal-murder-of-holocaust-survivor/2018/03/26/28cf8686-30f4-11e8-8abc-22a366b72f2d_story.html|archivedate=2019-06-17}}</ref>
==Description== Dr Sarah Attal-Halimi, a 65-year-old Jewish woman who was a retired physician and mother of three children,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.tribunejuive.info/france/sarah-halimi-defenestree-par-un-de-ses-voisins-dans-le-xieme-a-paris|title=Sarah Halimi, défenestrée par un de ses voisins dans le XIème à Paris|date=5 April 2017|website=Tribunejuive.info|language=fr|accessdate=29 July 2017}}</ref> was asleep in her apartment when her 27-year old neighbor Kobili Traoré broke in and beat her with a phone and then his fists, leaving her body with several fractures.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Rodan-Benzaquen |first1=Simone |title=Meurtre de Sarah Halimi : Sisyphe face au déni de la violence antisémite |url=https://www.liberation.fr/debats/2017/07/19/meurtre-de-sarah-halimi-sisyphe-face-au-deni-de-la-violence-antisemite_1584794/ |website=Liberation |publisher=Libé |access-date=11 June 2021}}</ref> He attempted to suffocate her, and then [[defenestrate]]d her.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Fournier |first1=Catherine |last2=Welfringer |first2=Laura |title=RECIT. MEURTRE DE SARAH HALIMI : AUTOPSIE D'UN FAIT DIVERS DEVENU AFFAIRE D'ETAT |url=https://www.francetvinfo.fr/societe/justice/recit-meurtre-de-sarah-halimi-autopsie-dun-fait-divers-devenu-affaire-detat_2292463.html |website=franceinfo |publisher=France Télévision |access-date=11 June 2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=La presse française se penche sur l'affaire Sarah Halimi |url=https://fr.timesofisrael.com/la-presse-francaise-se-penche-sur-laffaire-sarah-halimi/ |publisher=The Times of Israel |access-date=11 June 2021}}</ref> It is uncertain if she was killed before the fall or if death occurred as a result of the fall. This occurred at her residence, a third-floor apartment in the [[Belleville, Paris|Belleville district of Paris]] on 4 April 2017.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bfmtv.com/police-justice/femme-defenestree-a-paris-le-voisin-interpelle-interne-en-psychiatrie-1137039.html|title=Femme défenestrée à Paris: le voisin interpellé, interné en psychiatrie|last=BFMTV|website=BFMTV|language=fr|accessdate=29 July 2017}}</ref><ref name="Mickiewicz2017">{{cite web|url=http://www.lefigaro.fr/actualite-france/2017/07/12/01016-20170712ARTFIG00332-affaire-sarah-halimi-le-suspect-mis-en-examen-pour-meutre.php|title=Affaire Sarah Halimi: le suspect mis en examen pour meurtre|first=Juliette|last=Mickiewicz|date=12 July 2017|website=Le Figaro|language=fr|accessdate=29 July 2017}}</ref>
Traoré, a drug dealer and drug addict, had previously frightened Halimi with repeated antisemitic insults.<ref name="Mickiewicz2017" /> After his arrest, he claimed insanity and was promptly held in a psychiatric hospital.<ref name="FrenchIntellectuals">{{cite news|title=French intellectuals accuse authorities of covering up Jewish woman's slaying by Muslim neighbor|url=https://www.jta.org/2017/06/09/news-opinion/world/french-intellectuals-accuse-authorities-of-covering-up-jews-slaying-by-muslim-neighbor|accessdate=29 August 2017|publisher=JTA|date=9 June 2017}}</ref><ref name="WeitzmannMurdered">{{cite news|url=http://www.tabletmag.com/jewish-news-and-politics/235532/sarah-halimi-france-anti-semitism|title=Sarah Halimi Was Beaten to Death in Paris By a Muslim Attacker Reciting Verses From the Quran. The Press Covered it Up|last1=Weitzmann|first1=Marc|date=25 May 2017|accessdate=29 August 2017|publisher=Tablet Magazine}}</ref> An immigrant from [[Mali]],<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.lefigaro.fr/vox/societe/2017/07/17/31003-20170717ARTFIG00277-sarah-halimi-une-tragedie-contemporaine.php|title=Le meurtre de Sarah Halimi, une tragédie contemporaine|first=Alexandre|last=Devecchio|date=17 July 2017|website=Le Figaro |accessdate=29 July 2017}}</ref> Traoré was reportedly enraged following a family dispute and gained access to the neighbouring apartment of a different family, who immediately locked themselves into a bedroom, phoned police for help, and waited in fear as they listened to the intruder reciting verses from the [[Quran]].<ref name="WeitzmannMurdered"/>
The police are believed to have initially gone to the wrong building while Traoré climbed a balcony from the apartment where the family was sheltering behind a locked door, to the apartment of Halimi, the only Jewish resident of the building.<ref name="McAuleyTerrorism"/> When police finally arrived at the apartment the intruder had entered earlier. The police delayed entering while they awaited the arrival of an elite squad, while more phone calls came in to the police emergency hotline reporting a woman screaming as a man apparently beat her and shouted "shut your mouth", "[[Allahu Akbar]]", and "I killed the [[Shaitan]]".<ref name="FrenchIntellectuals"/><ref name="WeitzmannMurdered"/><ref name=JuifMuerte>{{cite web|url=http://www.slate.fr/story/143018/juif-meurtre-paris|title=Cette vieille dame assassinée qui panique la communauté juive et dont on parle peu|website=Slate.fr|date=7 April 2017|language=fr |accessdate=29 July 2017}}</ref>
After throwing Halimi from a third-floor window, Traoré returned to the first apartment where the family, still cowering in a room and awaiting the police, again heard him praying aloud.<ref name="WeitzmannMurdered"/><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.lefigaro.fr/actualite-france/2017/07/18/01016-20170718ARTFIG00309-affaire-sarah-halimi-ce-que-revele-le-dossier.php|title=Affaire Sarah Halimi: ce que révèle le dossier|first=Stéphane|last=Kovacs|date=18 July 2017|website=Le Figaro|language=fr|accessdate=29 July 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.timesofisrael.com/suspect-in-brutal-murder-of-french-jewish-woman-may-not-be-tried-lawyer-says/|title=Suspect in brutal murder of French-Jewish woman may not be tried|work=The Times of Israel|accessdate=29 July 2017}}</ref>
The second district of the [[Central Directorate of the Judicial Police|judicial police]] (2nd DPJ) of Paris was responsible for the investigation. On 7 April 2017, prosecutor François Molins, who opened a case for deliberate homicide, declared that the killing could not at that time be considered as an antisemitic act but that this possibility would be explored by the investigators.<ref name="auto1">{{cite web|url=http://www.liberation.fr/france/2017/06/06/meurtre-sauvage-a-paris-demence-ou-antisemitisme_1574941|title=Meurtre sauvage à Paris : démence ou antisémitisme ?|last=Morgat|first=Rozenn|date=6 June 2017|website=Libération|language=fr|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170606212759/https://www.liberation.fr/france/2017/06/06/meurtre-sauvage-a-paris-demence-ou-antisemitisme_1574941|archive-date=6 June 2017|accessdate=29 July 2017}}</ref>
The ''[[Libération]]'' newspaper reported that Traoré had never been confined to a psychiatric hospital before but had been imprisoned several times for offenses including aggravated violence. Toxicological analysis revealed the presence of cannabis in his blood. Having been taken into custody without resistance, Traoré later fought with police and was judged by a doctor to require transfer to a psychiatric hospital. He had not been interrogated by police. The results of the psychiatric assessment were planned for mid-June, then postponed until the end of August.<ref name="auto1"/>
==Legal proceedings and complaints== Halimi's sister-in-law lodged a complaint on 20 June 2017 to denounce the inertia of the police and its lack of coordination.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.lexpress.fr/actualite/societe/fait-divers/meurtre-de-sarah-halimi-ses-proches-denoncent-l-inertie-de-la-police_1921047.html|title=Meurtre de Sarah Halimi: ses proches dénoncent 'l'inertie de la police'|date=23 June 2017|website=Lexpress.fr|language=fr|accessdate=29 July 2017}}</ref>
On 10 July 2017, Kobili Traoré was apprehended and heard by the [[investigating judge (France)|investigating judge]]. He recognized the facts about the killing, while denying any antisemitic motivation: "I felt like possessed. I felt oppressed by an external force, a demonic force." He attributes his condition to cannabis consumption.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.lexpress.fr/actualite/societe/fait-divers/j-ai-l-ai-jetee-par-la-fenetre-les-declarations-du-tueur-de-sarah-halimi_1927052.html|title="Je l'ai jetée par la fenêtre": les déclarations du tueur présumé de Sarah Halimi|date=13 July 2017|website=Lexpress.fr|language=fr|accessdate=29 July 2017}}</ref>
On 12 July 2017, Traoré was "charged with intentional homicide against Mrs Attal-Halimi and for forcible confinement" of the neighboring family via whose apartment he climbed into Halimi's apartment. He was placed under warrant but remained in hospital. Brigitte Kuster, a member of the 17th [[arrondissement]] of Paris, referred the matter to the [[Minister of the Interior]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.brigittekuster.fr/2017/07/12/brigitte-kuster-saisit-le-ministre-de-linterieur-au-sujet-du-meurtre-de-sarah-halimi/|title=Brigitte Kuster saisit le ministre de l'Intérieur au sujet du meurtre de Sarah Halimi|website=Brigittekuster.fr|language=fr|accessdate=29 July 2017|archive-date=29 July 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170729190251/http://www.brigittekuster.fr/2017/07/12/brigitte-kuster-saisit-le-ministre-de-linterieur-au-sujet-du-meurtre-de-sarah-halimi/|url-status=dead}}</ref> In September 2017, the prosecutor officially characterized the killing as an "[[antisemitic]]" crime.<ref name="ProsecutorsAntisemitic">{{cite news|title=Killing of Paris Jewish woman was anti-Semitic crime, prosecutors finally say|url=https://www.timesofisrael.com/killing-of-paris-jewish-woman-was-anti-semitic-crime-prosecutors-finally-say/|accessdate=20 October 2017|agency=JTA|work=The Times of Israel|date=20 September 2017}}</ref>
In February 2018, the investigator in charge admitted in writing the antisemitic nature of the killing as had already been indicated to [[Agence France-Presse]] (AFP) by a judicial source.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.lexpress.fr/actualite/societe/justice/meurtre-de-sarah-halimi-le-caractere-antisemite-finalement-retenu_1988409.html|title=Meurtre de Sarah Halimi: le caractère antisémite finalement retenu|date=27 February 2018|language=fr|website=lexpress.fr}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.lefigaro.fr/actualite-france/2018/02/27/01016-20180227ARTFIG00322-meurtre-de-sarah-halimi-le-caractere-antisemite-retenu.php|title=Meurtre de Sarah Halimi: le caractère antisémite retenu|date=27 February 2018|language=fr|website=lefigaro.fr}}</ref><ref name="AntisemiticNatureConfirmed">{{cite news|title=Murder of Sarah Halimi: the antisemitic character retained by the judge|url=http://www.lemonde.fr/police-justice/article/2018/02/27/meurtre-de-sarah-halimi-le-caractere-antisemite-retenu-par-la-juge-d-instruction_5263360_1653578.html|accessdate=4 March 2018|agency=AFP|publisher=Le Monde|date=27 February 2018}}</ref><ref name="AntismiticAttack">{{cite news|title=Murder of Jewish woman in Paris reclassified as anti-semitic attack|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2018/02/28/murder-jewish-woman-paris-reclassified-anti-semitic-attack/|accessdate=28 March 2018|publisher=Telegraph|date=28 February 2018}}</ref>
In July 2019, an [[examining magistrate]] ruled that Traoré was likely not criminally responsible because his heavy cannabis use had put him in a state of temporary psychosis known in France as ''[[bouffée délirante]]'';<ref name="LiphshizJuly2019">{{Cite news|last=Liphshiz|first=Cnaan|date=2019-07-16|title=French judge rules Jewish woman's killer not responsible because he smoked weed|work=[[The Times of Israel]]|url=https://www.timesofisrael.com/french-judge-rules-jewish-womans-killer-not-responsible-because-he-smoked-weed/|accessdate=2020-06-03|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20191130082103/https://www.timesofisrael.com/french-judge-rules-jewish-womans-killer-not-responsible-because-he-smoked-weed/|archivedate=2019-11-30}}</ref> this was affirmed at the end of 2019 by the [[Paris Court of Appeal]]<ref name=AgenciesDec2019>{{Cite news|url=https://www.timesofisrael.com/suspect-in-2017-paris-killing-of-jewish-woman-wont-stand-trial/|title=Suspect in 2017 Paris killing of Jewish woman won't stand trial|work=[[The Times of Israel]]|date=2019-12-19|accessdate=2020-06-06}}</ref><ref name=Bouderbala>{{Cite news|url=https://www.timesofisrael.com/judges-rebuke-macron-for-criticism-over-case-of-slain-jewish-woman-in-france/|title=French judges rebuke Macron for criticism over case of slain Jewish woman|first1=Sofia|last1=Bouderbala|first2=Clare|last2=Byrne|work=[[The Times of Israel]]|date=2020-01-27|accessdate=2020-06-06}}</ref> and in 2021 by the [[Court of Cassation (France)|Court of Cassation]], which is the [[supreme court|final court of appeal]] in France.<ref name=JTAApril2021 /><ref name="EscandeLeMonde">{{cite web|url=https://www.lemonde.fr/societe/article/2021/04/14/mort-de-sarah-halimi-la-cour-de-cassation-confirme-l-irresponsabilite-de-son-meurtrier-qui-ne-sera-pas-juge_6076764_3224.html|title=Mort de Sarah Halimi : la Cour de cassation confirme l'irresponsabilité de son meurtrier, qui ne sera pas jugé|work=Le Monde|date=14 April 2021|accessdate=10 May 2021|language=fr}}</ref> Lawyers for Halimi's family subsequently announced their intention to take the case to the [[European Court of Human Rights]].<ref name="EscandeLeMonde" />
==Political responses== ''[[The Times]]'' reported on 23 May 2017 that according to Jean-Alexandre Buchinger, an attorney for the victim's family, the killer ought to have been charged with "murder with antisemitism as an aggravating circumstance", and also that French Jewish groups were alleging that this had not been done out of fear of encouraging support for the [[National Front (France)]] party's election campaign.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.thetimes.com/article/antisemitic-killing-hushed-up-for-election-campaigns-zzbfg8x3k|title=Antisemitic killing 'hushed up for election campaigns'|author=Adam Sage|newspaper=[[The Times]]|date=23 May 2017|access-date=29 July 2017}}</ref>
On 16 July 2017, [[Francis Kalifat]], President of the [[CRIF]], emphasized the antisemitic nature of the killing during the commemoration of the [[Vel' d'Hiv Roundup]]. The President of the Republic [[Emmanuel Macron]] then asked the court to clarify the matter despite the alleged killer's claims.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.lexpress.fr/actualite/societe/justice/macron-veut-que-toute-la-clarte-soit-faite-sur-le-meurtre-de-sarah-halimi_1927758.html|title=Macron veut que "toute la clarté" soit faite sur le meurtre de Sarah Halimi|date=16 July 2017|website=Lexpress.fr|language=fr|accessdate=29 July 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.20minutes.fr/societe/2105015-20170716-direct-commemoration-rafle-vel-hiv-depots-gerbes-commence|title=EN DIRECT. Commémoration de la rafle du Vel D'Hiv: "C'est bien la France qui organisa la rafle", déclare Emmanuel Macron...|language=fr|website=20minutes.fr|accessdate=29 July 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|author=Russell Goldman|title=Macron Denounces Anti-Zionism as 'Reinvented Form of Anti-Semitism'|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/07/17/world/europe/macron-israel-holocaust-antisemitism.html|accessdate=29 August 2017|work=The New York Times|date=17 July 2017|quote=[France President Macron] also called for an investigation into the death of Sarah Halimi, a 66-year-old woman who in April was thrown from the window of her Paris apartment}}</ref>
On 1 June 2017, Belgian MEP in the [[European Parliament]], [[Frédérique Ries]] denounced the French authorities' "chilling silence" over Halimi's killing during a debate in the European Parliament on the fight against antisemitism.<ref name="FrenchIntellectuals"/><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.i24news.tv/fr/actu/international/europe/147257-170607-sarah-halimi-une-depute-belge-denonce-le-silence-glacant-des-autorites|title=Sarah Halimi: une députée Belge dénonce "le silence glaçant des autorités"|website=I24news.tv|language=fr|accessdate=29 July 2017}}</ref>
In December 2019, President [[Emmanuel Macron]] criticized the Paris appeals court's finding that Traoré was unfit for trial, saying "even if, in the end, the judge decided that there was no criminal responsibility, there is a need for a trial"; Macron was rebuked by a judge from the supreme [[Court of Cassation (France)|Court of Cassation]].<ref name=Bouderbala/>
In April 2021, following the decision of the supreme Court of Cassation, President Macron called for the law to be changed. Macron stated that France "does not judge citizens who are sick, we treat them... But deciding to take drugs and then 'going crazy' should not, in my opinion, take away your criminal responsibility".<ref>{{Cite web|title=French president seeks change to law after Jewish woman's killer spared trial|url=https://www.timesofisrael.com/french-president-on-halimi-ruling-going-crazy-on-drugs-does-not-excuse-crime/|date=19 April 2021|access-date=2021-04-19|work=The Times of Israel|language=en-US}}</ref>
In January 2022, a 67,000-word parliamentary report on the incident was released. It found that neither the police, psychiatric hospital nor the court system had acted inappropriately. The report was approved by a vote of 7-5, with [[Meyer Habib]], the Jewish lawmaker chosen to lead the committee, among the dissenters. The report was widely condemned by Jewish organizations and media.<ref>{{Cite web|title=French parliamentary report on Sarah Halimi murder reopens wounds it sought to heal|url=https://www.timesofisrael.com/french-parliamentary-report-on-sarah-halimi-murder-reopens-wounds-it-sought-to-heal//|date=22 January 2022|access-date=2022-02-17|work=The Times of Israel|language=en-US}}</ref>
==Public reaction== [[File:Rassemblement pour Sarah Halimi Strasbourg 25 avril 2021.jpg|thumb|Démonstration for Sarah Halimi in Strasbourg (25 April 2021)]] The Halimi killing generated significant public reaction in France and worldwide, with intellectual, media, political and Jewish communal voices demanding that antisemitism and Islamist terrorism be investigated as possible motives, and accusing both the French government and press of a coverup.<ref name="McAuleyTerrorism"/><ref name="WeitzmannMurdered"/><ref name="FrenchIntellectuals"/>
On 9 April 2017, between 1,000 and 2,000 people joined a march in memory of Halimi, organized by the Representative Council of the Jewish Institutions of France ([[CRIF]]), which asked that "the whole truth" of the case be made public. The march, which also became a protest against antisemitism, started at the local [[Belleville (Paris Métro)|Belleville]] metro station and ended at the site of Sarah Halimi's homicide.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bfmtv.com/police-justice/paris-marche-en-hommage-a-une-femme-juive-defenestree-par-un-voisin-1139118.html|title=Paris: marche en hommage à une femme juive défenestrée par un voisin|website=BFMTV|language=fr|accessdate=29 July 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.newsru.co.il/world/09apr2017/sarah_halimi_002.html|title=Убийство Сары Халими в Париже: две тысячи французских евреев вышли на "белый марш"|website=Newsru.co.il|language=ru|accessdate=29 July 2017}}</ref>
Paris prosecutor François Molins received representatives of the Jewish community and attempted to reassure them that the issue was not one of antisemitism, but that the possibility was being investigated.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.slate.fr/story/143018/juif-meurtre-paris|title=Cette vieille dame assassinée qui panique la communauté juive et dont on parle peu|date=7 April 2017|first=Claude|last=Askolovitch|work=SlateFr|language=fr|accessdate=3 August 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.algemeiner.com/2017/05/29/french-jewish-anger-grows-over-savage-antisemitic-murder-of-pensioner-at-hands-of-muslim-in-paris-suburb|title=French Jewish Anger Grows Over Savage Antisemitic Murder of Pensioner at Hands of Muslim in Paris Suburb|work=The Algemeiner|first=Ben|last=Cohen|date=29 May 2017|accessdate=29 July 2017}}</ref> According to [[Gilles-William Goldnadel]], a French political commentator and attorney for the Halimi family, Sarah Halimi's killer had "the profile of a radical Islamist, and yet somehow there is a resistance to call a spade a spade."<ref name="McAuleyTerrorism"/>
[[Alexandra Laignel-Lavastine]], a French academic, on 25 May 2017 published an open letter in the newspaper ''[[Atlantico]]'' titled "From Ilan to Sarah Halimi, France unworthy". She addressed it to [[Gérard Collomb]], appointed [[Minister of the Interior]] a week earlier, and denounced France as a "country where it has once again become possible to assassinate Jews without our countrymen being overly disturbed".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.atlantico.fr/decryptage/lettre-ouverte-gerard-collomb-ilan-sarah-halimi-france-indigne-alexandra-laignel-lavastine-3059672.html|title=Lettre ouverte à Gérard Collomb: d'Ilan à Sarah Halimi, la France indigne|website=Atlantico.fr|language=fr|accessdate=29 July 2017}}</ref>
Seventeen intellectuals, including [[Michel Onfray]], [[Élisabeth Badinter]], [[Jacques Julliard]], [[Georges Bensoussan]], [[Alain Finkielkraut]] and [[Marcel Gauchet]], in the lead article of ''[[Le Figaro]]'' on 2 June 2017 asked that light be shed "on the death of this French woman of Jewish religion killed at the cries of 'Allah Akbar'". They denounced what they called "the denial of the real" and the fact that "this crime of a rare barbarism", occurring in the middle of a presidential campaign, "received little attention from the media".<ref name="FrenchIntellectuals"/><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.lefigaro.fr/vox/societe/2017/06/01/31003-20170601ARTFIG00316-l-appel-de-16-intellectuels-que-la-verite-soit-dite-sur-le-meurtre-de-sarah-halimi.php|title=L'appel de 17 intellectuels: "Que la vérité soit dite sur le meurtre de Sarah Halimi"|language=fr|date=1 June 2017|website=Lefigaro.fr|accessdate=29 July 2017|via=Le Figaro}}</ref>
On 5 June 2017, [[Bernard-Henri Levy]] stressed the fact that, although Sarah Halimi was tortured and [[defenestrate]]d at the cry of "[[Allahu Akbar]]", justice and the press "are reluctant to pronounce the word 'antisemitism'".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://laregledujeu.org/2017/06/05/31545/de-halimi-a-halimi-de-manchester-a-jenine/|title=De Manchester à Jénine|date=5 June 2017|website=La Règle du Jeu|language=fr|accessdate=29 July 2017}}</ref> The same day, the former high magistrate Philippe Bilger evoked the Halimi case in an opinion piece published by ''Le Figaro''.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.lefigaro.fr/vox/societe/2017/06/05/31003-20170605ARTFIG00142-affaire-sarah-halimi-le-point-de-vue-de-philippe-bilger.php|title=Affaire Sarah Halimi: le point de vue de Philippe Bilger|first=Philippe|last=Bilger|date=5 June 2017|website=Lefigaro.fr|language=fr|accessdate=29 July 2017|via=Le Figaro}}</ref> The next day, columnist Gérard Leclerc of ''Radio Notre-Dame'' denounced the media silence.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://radionotredame.net/emissions/leditorial/06-06-2017/|title=L'éditorial de Gérard Leclerc: Un gros malaise|language=fr|date=6 June 2017|website=Radionotredame.net|accessdate=29 July 2017|archive-date=19 April 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210419174044/https://radionotredame.net/emissions/leditorial/06-06-2017/|url-status=dead}}</ref>
On 8 June 2017, French writer [[Michel Onfray]] wondered in a video about the silence surrounding the killing: "How can we kill this poor lady twice? By not giving this information the echo that it deserved, it was to consider that the echo of this murder counted for nothing". He added that "whenever there is an escalation in terror, there is an escalation in the denial of terror. Every real is today evacuated and swept 'if it is likely to play the game of the [[National Rally|National Front]]'. But reality always avenges itself one day".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.lepoint.fr/societe/michel-onfray-sarah-halimi-a-ete-tuee-deux-fois-08-06-2017-2133860_23.php|title=Michel Onfray: "Sarah Halimi a été tuée deux fois"|date=8 June 2017|website=Lepoint.fr|language=fr|accessdate=29 July 2017}}</ref>
On 13 July 2017, the CRIF posted a newsletter on the topic noting that the killing had occurred a hundred days before, that the suspect was still under examination for voluntary homicide, and that the aggravating factor of antisemitism had been dropped. "Why this antisemitic denialism?" it asked.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.crif.org/fr/newsletter/assassinat-de-sarah-halimi-deja-100-jours-lassassin-ete-mis-en-examen-pour-homicide-volontaire-mais-la-circonstance-aggravante-dantisemitisme-nest-pas-retenue-pourquoi-ce-deni|title=Assassinat de Sarah Halimi, déjà 100 jours. L'assassin a été mis en examen pour homicide volontaire, mais la circonstance aggravante d'antisémitisme n'est pas retenue. Pourquoi ce déni d'antisémitisme ?|date=13 July 2017|website=Crif.org|language=fr|accessdate=29 July 2017}}</ref>
In May 2019, Shimon Samuels of the [[Simon Wiesenthal Center]] Europe complained that Traoré was still considered unfit for trial, asserted that the nature of the crime was irrefutably antisemitic, and said that "If justice is perverted and murder excused due to drug addiction, this sets a precedent for every drunk driver to be similarly acquitted."<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.jpost.com/Diaspora/Antisemitism/Murderer-of-Sarah-Halimi-found-unfit-to-stand-trial-590662|date=26 May 2019|last=Winston|first=Alex|title=Sarah Halimi murderer found unfit to stand trial|work=The Jerusalem Post|access-date=27 May 2019}}</ref>
===Media coverage=== The [[Jewish Telegraphic Agency]], ''[[The Jewish Chronicle]]'' (London), and ''[[The Times of Israel]]'' carried the story immediately after the killing occurred, flagging it as a possible [[hate crime]].<ref name="HarpinHateMotive">{{cite news|last1=Harpin|first1=Lee|title=Man arrested after Jewish woman found dead outside her Paris flat Watchdog suggests possible hate motive|url=https://www.thejc.com/news/world/man-arrested-after-jewish-woman-found-dead-outside-her-paris-flat-1.435859|accessdate=29 August 2017|work=Jewish Chronicle|date=5 April 2017}}</ref><ref name="SitbonHateCrime">{{cite news|last1=Sitbon|first1=Shirli|title=Hate motive 'possible' in alleged murder of Orthodox woman in Paris|url=https://www.thejc.com/news/world/hate-motive-possible-in-alleged-murder-of-orthodox-woman-in-paris-1.436010|accessdate=29 August 2017|work=The Jewish Chronicle|date=7 April 2017}}</ref><ref name="RaciallyMotivated">{{cite news|title=Jewish woman found dead outside her Paris home Police arrest suspect in death of Sarah Halimi, 66; anti-Semitism watchdog doesn't rule out racially motivated murder|url=http://www.timesofisrael.com/jewish-woman-found-dead-outside-her-paris-home|accessdate=29 August 2017|agency=JTA|work=The Times of Israel|date=5 April 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://fr.timesofisrael.com/la-presse-francaise-se-penche-sur-laffaire-sarah-halimi|title=La presse française se penche sur l'affaire Sarah Halimi|language=fr|website=Fr.timesofisrael.com|date=25 May 2017|accessdate=29 July 2017}}</ref>
On 25 May 2017, French journalist [[Marc Weitzmann]] published in the American magazine ''[[Tablet (magazine)|Tablet]]'' a long article accusing the French government and press of covering up this and other acts of violent antisemitism.<ref name="WeitzmannMurdered"/>
''[[Le Monde]]'' did not publish the story until 23 June, when it finally ran a story raising the question of antisemitism.<ref name="auto">{{cite news|url=http://www.lemonde.fr/societe/article/2017/05/23/sarah-halimi-a-t-elle-ete-tuee-parce-qu-elle-etait-juive_5132448_3224.html|title=Sarah Halimi a-t-elle été tuée "parce qu'elle était juive?"|trans-title=Was Sarah Halimi killed because she was Jewish?|first=Louise|last=Couvelaire|language=fr|date=23 May 2017|newspaper=Le Monde.fr|accessdate=29 July 2017}}</ref>
Gilles-William Goldnadel, a lawyer for one of the victim's sisters, expressed in the center-right-leaning ''[[Le Figaro]]'' on 22 May that, "the assassin presents the classic profile of the usual Islamist criminals [...] But what tightens The heart of man and of the lawyer, is called public indifference", highlighting the suspect's judicial past.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.lefigaro.fr/vox/politique/2017/05/22/31001-20170522ARTFIG00202-g-w-goldnadel-ce-que-revele-l-indifference-vis-a-vis-de-la-mort-de-sarah-halimi.php|title=G-W Goldnadel: " Ce que révèle l'indifférence vis-à-vis de la mort de Sarah Halimi "|first=Gilles William|last=Goldnadel|date=22 May 2017|website=Le Figaro|accessdate=29 July 2017|language=fr}}</ref>
The French Jewish press belatedly reported on the matter on 9 June 2017, asserting that based on evidence and witnesses, nothing confirmed an antisemitic character to the crime, expressing confidence in the authorities and urging French Jews not to spread rumors on social media.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.tribunejuive.info/antisemitisme/affaire-sarah-halimi-attal-francois-molins-charge-de-lenquete|title=Affaire Sarah Halimi-Attal: François Molins chargé de l'enquête|date=7 April 2017|website=Tribunejuive.info|language=fr|accessdate=29 July 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.actuj.com/2017-04/france/5031-femme-juive-defenestree-un-temoin-direct-se-confie-a-actualite-juive|title=Sarah Halimi assassinée: un témoin direct se confie à Actualité juive|first=Steve|last=Nadjar|website=Actualités Juives|language=fr|accessdate=29 July 2017|archive-date=3 August 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170803163557/http://www.actuj.com/2017-04/france/5031-femme-juive-defenestree-un-temoin-direct-se-confie-a-actualite-juive|url-status=dead}}</ref>
Thomas Bidnic, a lawyer for Traoré, stated on 31 May that the suspect, still in psychiatric confinement, might not face trial.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://fr.timesofisrael.com/vers-une-irresponsabilite-penale-pour-le-suspect-du-meurtre-de-sarah-halimi|title=Vers une "irresponsabilité pénale" pour le suspect du meurtre de Sarah Halimi ?|website=Fr.timesofisrael.com|date=31 May 2017|language=fr|accessdate=29 July 2017}}</ref>
In 2017 ''[[The Washington Post]]'' revisited [[Killing of Ilan Halimi|Ilan Halimi's murder]], describing it as similar to the killing of Sarah Halimi because French authorities similarly refused to acknowledge the antisemitic nature of the killing or to investigate it as ethnically and ideologically motivated terrorism.<ref name="McAuleyTerrorism"/>
==Other== Sarah Halimi's son described her as having "studied medicine for seven years, and was a family practitioner."<ref name="AmiLiving_Issue328">{{cite magazine|last=Horowitz|first=Simi|date=26 July 2017|title=Terror in Paris|magazine=Ami Living|pages=32–39}}</ref> Years later, in the process of raising her children together with her late husband, a psychologist, she decided to apply for an open position as director of a government-funded preschool that "became famous across Paris."<ref name="McAuleyTerrorism"/>
==See also== * [[Murder of Ilan Halimi]] * [[Murder of Mireille Knoll]]
==References== {{Reflist}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Halimi, Sarah}} [[Category:2017 in Paris]] [[Category:2017 crimes in France]] [[Category:2010s murders in Paris]] [[Category:Antisemitic murders in 21st-century France]] [[Category:Antisemitism in France]] [[Category:April 2017 crimes in Europe]] [[Category:April 2017 in France]] [[Category:Belleville, Paris]] [[Category:Deaths by person in Paris]] [[Category:Hate crimes in Europe]] [[Category:Islam and antisemitism]]