PARIS, Aug 24 (AFP) - Israeli Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom on Tuesday urged France to back up its strong words against anti-Semitism with vigorous action in a bid to curb a worrying wave of attacks on Jews.
"Though statements are very important, actions are very important too," Shalom told journalists after a meeting with French Interior Minister Dominique de Villepin in Paris.
The visit came just two days after unidentified arsonists scrawled swastikas and torched a Jewish community centre in the capital. A previously unknown Islamic group claimed responsibility on a web site.
Shalom, who was to inspect the gutted premises of the centre on Wednesday, praised the harsh condemnation of that attack and others voiced by the French government, which Monday declared "war on racism".
"I"m encouraged by the determination of the minister and his ministry and the determination of the French government to fight against those extremists that are trying to hurt the Jewish community here," he said.
But he intimated that Israel viewed French courts as not being severe enough when it came to sentencing perpetrators.
"We would like to see those statements give a very strong signal to those who are in charge... the legal authorities, to punish those who are carrying out these kind of attacks," he said.
"I don`t think any of us could believe that 60 years on, Jews would again live under a threat in Europe," he said, referring to the Nazi Holocaust in World War II.
Shalom added that the "combat against anti-Semitism" must also be taken to French schools and universities, suggesting that students returning to classes next month after summer vacations be given "a very strong message that it is much better to love each other than to hate each other".
Anti-Semitic acts have risen noticeably in France in the past four years, in parallel with the deteriorating climate of violence between Israelis and Palestinians.
De Villepin, speaking at the same media conference, said the situation was "unacceptable" and contrary to French values.
"Over the first seven months of this year, we have counted 160 anti-Semitic acts -- assaults against individuals or property damage -- compared to 75 for the first seven months of 2003," he said.
One hundred and forty-seven suspects were arrested between January and July, he added, and security had been stepped up around synagogues, Jewish schools and during Jewish holidays.
France is home to Europe`s largest Jewish and Muslim communities, estimated at 600,000 and five million respectively out of a total population of 60 million.
Shalom`s visit to Paris Tuesday was the first by a high-level Israeli official since Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon last month urged French Jews to flee "the wildest anti-Semitism", a call that prompted a sharp rebuke from French President Jacques Chirac.
Faced with a ban on travel to France and media speculation that his call was an attempt to sideline a country often seen as sympathetic to the Palestinians` situation, Sharon later changed his tone by hailing Chirac`s efforts to combat anti-Semitism and saying he hoped the "example will be followed by other countries".
Shalom was to discuss the Middle East crisis and Franco-Israeli relations during a meeting with French Foreign Minister Michel Barnier later Tuesday, according to the Israeli embassy.
Barnier, snubbed by Israeli officials in June after he visited Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat at his West Bank headquarters, is due to visit the Jewish state in October.