Investigation launched after threatening remarks by Israeli rabbi targeting Macron

Saturday 09 August 2025 - 09:35

French prosecutors have opened an investigation following threatening remarks made against President Emmanuel Macron by an Israeli rabbi in a video posted on YouTube. The Paris prosecutor's office confirmed on Friday that the probe was initiated after reports from French Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau and a platform monitoring hate and violent content online.

The case is now under the jurisdiction of the criminal brigade of the Paris judicial police. In the 37-minute video titled “La téfila de Moché Rabbénous – La fin de la France et de l’Iran”, Rabbi David Daniel Cohen, who appears to reside in Israel, harshly criticizes Macron for his plan to recognize the State of Palestine, scheduled for September.

According to Cohen, Macron’s recognition of Palestine is an expression of "deep antisemitism" and amounts to "a declaration of war against God." He warns the French president to "prepare his coffin," stating that God will show him the consequences of being "so brazen and making statements against God."

The Chief Rabbi of France, Haïm Korsia, condemned Cohen’s "abhorrent and intolerable" remarks and clarified on the social media platform X that Cohen has never held a rabbinical position in France, nor was he trained or graduated from the French rabbinical school.