A French court issued a bizarre decision: two Tunisian men, both illegal migrants with criminal records, cut down an olive tree planted in memory of Ilan Halimi, the young Jewish man whom a gang of twenty Muslims kidnapped, tortured for several weeks, and finally left to die. The men were convicted of destroying property, but acquitted of any antisemitic motive. French Jews are outraged. More on the court’s decision can be found here.

Tunisian twin brothers in France were sentenced to eight months in prison each for allegedly cutting down an olive tree planted to honor Ilan Halimi, the French Jewish man tortured to death nearly a decade ago. However, the two men were acquitted of antisemitism charges filed against them, prompting outrage among Jewish leaders in France.

On Wednesday, the brothers faced trial on charges of “aggravated destruction of property” and “desecration of a monument dedicated to the memory of the dead on the basis of race, ethnicity, nationality, or religion,” offenses carrying a sentence of up to two years in prison.

The court acquitted them of committing an antisemitic hate crime, ruling that the brothers were unaware they had desecrated Halimi’s memorial.

Even though they admitted to being in the garden on the night of the incident, the brothers denied cutting down the tree and claimed they were unaware of Halimi’s story, leading the court to rule that the act was not antisemitic in nature.

But there was a plaque at the base of the tree describing Halimi and his death. It was impossible for them not to have seen it.

If they were willing to deny cutting down the tree, despite both their DNAs found on the watermelon slices left at the tree’s stump — apparently they had a snack after cutting the tree down — then of course they would be willing to lie about knowing about Halimi’s story. The only reason for cutting down the tree was to efface the living memorial planted in honor of a Jewish victim of Muslim murderers. How is that act not antisemitic?

Both of them were sentenced to eight months in prison, but one of them received a suspended sentence, meaning he will not serve time unless he commits another offense or violates certain conditions.

These are slaps on the wrist, and an offense to the memory of Halimi.

The two 19-year-old undocumented men with prior convictions for theft and violence were arrested in August for vandalizing Halimi’s memorial in the northern Paris suburb of Épinay-sur-Seine….

These illegal (“undocumented”) migrants already had prior convictions for “theft and violence.” The French state that failed to deport them has some explaining to do.

Both of them were sentenced to eight months in prison, but one of them received a suspended sentence, meaning he will not serve time unless he commits another offense or violates certain conditions.

The two 19-year-old undocumented men with prior convictions for theft and violence were arrested in August for vandalizing Halimi’s memorial in the northern Paris suburb of Épinay-sur-Seine.

Investigators tracked them down after discovering two slices of watermelon left by the perpetrators at the base of the olive tree, which contained their DNA….

Halimi was abducted, held captive, and tortured in January 2006 by a gang of about 20 people in a low-income housing estate in the Paris suburb of Bagneux.

Three weeks later, Halimi was found in Essonne, south of Paris, naked, gagged, and handcuffed, with clear signs of torture and burns. The 23-year-old died on the way to the hospital.

In 2011, an olive tree was planted in Halimi’s memory. Earlier this year, in one of the latest attacks on Halimi’s memory, the memorial in the northern Paris suburb of Épinay-sur-Seine was found felled — probably with a chainsaw….

The French media are by law not permitted to identify the ethnic or religious background of people accused of crimes. But do you have the slightest doubt that the five teenagers were Muslims, determined to set upon and beat up “a Jew.” A helpless thirteen-year-old Jewish boy, surrounded by all five Muslims in an elevator, fit the bill.

An investigation has been opened on the five antisemitic attackers who ganged up on their young Jewish victim, and. beat him so hard that he suffered spinal injuries. Will they be given sentences fit for their crime, or mere slaps-on-the-wrist akin to what the Tunisian brothers who cut down Halimi’s tree received? French Jews are now full of anxiety and dread. Some are making aliyah, others planning to move to North America. Does France wish to lose those who are among the most productive and loyal of its citizens, and in exchange be saddled with those who are neither?