* Four Synagogues Attacked Across Europe * 1,000 police men deployed at Jewish sites in France____
PARIS (Islamweb & News Agencies) - Anti-Israeli sentiments appear to be on the rise in Europe following Israel's latest brutal measures against Palestinians and their President, Yasser Arafat. (Read photo caption within) However, Arab and Muslim Political analysts fear that, Israel and its Western allies, particularly at this time of electioneering in a number of European countries, will take advantage of the surge in opposition to Israeli brutalities in the territories and brand perpetrators of recent attacks against a number of Synagogues as a rebirth of anti-semitism amongst the populace. In France, a fire, whose cause has not yet been determined, gutted a synagogue in the southern port city of Marseille overnight.
In another incident, arsonists poured oil under the door of a prayer hall at a synagogue in Strasbourg, on the German border, Saturday and set it alight, though they failed to ignite the building.
Meanwhile masked ram-raiders slammed two stolen cars into a synagogue in Lyon, setting it ablaze, and a synagogue in Belgium was firebombed.
Meanwhile, more than 1,000 police reinforcements will be deployed at Jewish sites across France by Tuesday as a result.
Prime Minister Lionel Jospin, campainging for the presidential elections in France this year said 1,100 police were being sent to Lyon, Marseille, and 10 other cities Monday and Tuesday.The police reinforcements will watch over Jewish religious and cultural centers and schools.
In a country, which has more than four million practicing Muslims and an influential Jewish community, President Chirac, himself campaigning for re-election condemned the incidents out of hand.
Visiting a synagogue in the port of Le Havre later on Monday, Chirac said such acts were "unimaginable, unpardonable
PHOTO CAPTION:
A man holds his head in his hands April 1, 2002 near charred furniture outside a synagogue after it was set ablaze overnight in the southern city of Marseilles, France. The arson attack on the synagogue follows other acts of anti-Zionist violence in Lyon, Strasbourg, and near Toulouse over the weekend. (Jean-Paul Pelissier/Reuter