Israeli Filmmaker beaten in France

2012 was  “a year of unprecedented violence against Jews in France,” with 614 anti-Semitic incidents reported- an increase of 58 percent from 2011.

2103 isn’t looking much better.

Israeli media has reported that Israeli filmmaker Yariv Horowitz was attacked and beaten unconscious  in France while attending the Aubagne Film Festival.  Horowitz was jumped by a group of Arab youth in what appears to be a racially motivated attack shortly after the screening of his film. Horowitz is reported in good condition, and was able to attend the remainder of the film festival.

His film, "Rock the Casbah", follows the story of young Israeli soldiers during the first intifada in Gaza.  The  film won the festival's  Special Prize of the Jury for Best Picture.

 From the J Post:

Horowitz wrote on his personal website that the film is “a project that I always wanted do.” The films stars Yon Tumarkin, and covers the lives of young soldiers in the Gaza Strip during the violent uprising of Palestinians in the first intifada in 1989.

He writes that his film is “a tribute to my childhood friends who served with me in the occupied territories.”
His film was screened last month at the Berlinale International Film Festival in Berlin, and won the prestigious International Confederation of Art Cinemas award there.

In the film, 18-year-old Tomer is sent into to Gaza where he struggles with his life as a soldier, and a member of a Palestinian family plays a role in the killing of an IDF soldier

UPDATE: 30th March 2012 - A statement from the Festival International du Film d'Aubagne has been released on Facebook. It asks that the following events based on their interpretation of the events be clarified:

"We were there during the assault director Yariv Horowitz Thursday, October 21 at 22:30. It is not for us to judge who is to blame and no aggression is excusable. But it should restore some truths:

1 - These are not men who committed the assault but a young infant who was with other kids his age.

2 - It was not Arabic.

3 - The events that triggered the coup (once) have nothing to do with a racist attack.

4 - After being helped by the festival organizers, Yariv Horowitz was seen by firefighters who have identified a minor injury. They suggested he go to the police. The director refused. His injury is minimal it did not want to not go to the hospital.

5 - Far from lynching, Yariv Horowitz returned to the festival the next day and has participated in various events until the end of the festival.

6 - It is mounted on scene the night of the awards ceremony with a smile to receive his prize: special mention for the quality of its staging."

The statement, translated from French, seems to corroborate that the attack did indeed occur. The details however, are still unclear. The Festival maintains that the boys who assaulted Horowitz were "not Arabic", however how they might know this for sure is not stated and runs contrary to the version of events reported around the world.
The rest of the story, including the fact that Horowitz returned to the festival, are upheld by the statement.