Jews stage protest against cemetery profanation in France 

Chasidic Jews have protested outside the French embassy in the Belgian capital Brussels against the desecration of a Jewish cemetery in eastern France. The demonstrators carried signs printed largely in English, reading, “Let our sages rest in peace” and “Human rights don’t stop at demise.” Four years ago, a parking lot was built on top of the cemetery in the city of Metz; the current owners say the graves were exhumed by the Germans in 1903, though human remains were found when part of the site was excavated some years ago. Works on the parking lot did not include excavations beneath the surface, said Rabbi Elimelech Bindiger of the Committee for the Preservation of Jewish Cemeteries in Europe. “They simply laid it over the graves,” he told the news agency JTA, adding, “either way, what they have done directly contravenes Jewish law.” France’s acting ambassador to Belgium, Michel Roche, received a delegation from the group and promised to do everything possible to resolve the situation. Negotiations continue among the town council, the owners and the committee.