{"id":123953,"date":"2025-09-05T17:00:00","date_gmt":"2025-09-05T15:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.reunion68.se\/?p=123953"},"modified":"2025-09-04T07:39:53","modified_gmt":"2025-09-04T05:39:53","slug":"05-00-111","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.reunion68.se\/?p=123953","title":{"rendered":"French Authorities Replant Memorial Olive Tree and Launch Seventh Ilan Halimi Award"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\"\"<\/a>French Authorities Replant Memorial Olive Tree and Launch Seventh Ilan Halimi Award<\/a><\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/h3>\n

Ailin Vilches Arguello<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

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A crowd gathers at the Jardin Ilan Halimi in Paris on Feb. 14, 2021, to commemorate the 15th anniversary of Halimi\u2019s kidnapping and murder. Photo: Reuters\/Xose Bouzas\/Hans Lucas<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

French authorities planted a new olive tree on Wednesday to honor Ilan Halimi, nearly a decade after the young French Jewish man was tortured to death and\u00a0two weeks after a previous commemorative tree was cut down<\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

Herv\u00e9 Chevreau, mayor of the norther Paris suburb \u00c9pinay, announced that several olive trees will be replanted in Halimi\u2019s memory, praising \u201ca remarkable outpouring of solidarity\u201d reflected in the donations.<\/span><\/p>\n

With a commemorative ceremony on Wednesday, the first olive tree will be planted in Saint-Ouen, a northern suburb of Paris in the \u00cele-de-France region.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIn the context of rising antisemitic acts, the community aims to reaffirm its steadfast commitment against hatred, forgetfulness, and indifference,\u201d Chevreau said in a statement. \u201cThis gesture of reflection and resilience responds to the serious act of vandalism in \u00c9pinay-sur-Seine, where the commemorative tree was deliberately cut down.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Halimi was\u00a0abducted, held captive, and tortured<\/a>\u00a0in January 2006 by a gang of about 20 people in a low-income housing estate in the Paris suburb of Bagneux.<\/span><\/p>\n

Three weeks later, he 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.<\/span><\/p>\n

In 2011, an olive tree was planted in Halimi\u2019s memory. Earlier this month, the memorial was found felled \u2014 probably with a chainsaw \u2014 in Epinay-sur-Seine.<\/span><\/p>\n

Halimi\u2019s memory has faced attacks before, with two other trees planted in his honor vandalized in 2019 in Essonne.<\/span><\/p>\n

During Wednesday\u2019s ceremony, numerous prominent figures attended, including France\u2019s Chief Rabbi Haim Korsia, Yonathan Arfi, President of the Representative Council of Jewish Institutions in France (CRIF), Labor Minister Astrid Panosyan-Bouvet, and Minister for Gender Equality and the Fight Against Discrimination Aurore Berg\u00e9.<\/span><\/p>\n

At the event, Berg\u00e9 announced\u00a0the launch of the seventh edition of the Ilan Halimi Award<\/a>, marking 20 years since his disappearance.<\/span><\/p>\n

Established in 2018, the award seeks to fight racism and antisemitism by inspiring young people to take action.<\/span><\/p>\n

Since then, French authorities have annually recognized projects led by young people aged 13 to 25 from schools, universities, associations, and civic or integration programs.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThe launch of the 2026 edition of the Ilan Halimi Award in Sainte-Genevi\u00e8ve-des-Bois is more than an act of remembrance \u2014 it is a pledge to the future,\u201d Berg\u00e9 said during the ceremony.<\/span><\/p>\n