Minutes after Rabbi Yichya and Batsheva Lahiany—Chabad-Lubavitch emissaries in Grenoble, France, for more than 40 years—left their home on Shabbat morning, July 5, their house was firebombed and destroyed in what French officials have confirmed was a premeditated arson attack.
“Ten minutes after they left for synagogue, 10 young Muslim men threw propane bottles into the house,” their daughter, Sarah Perets, told Chabad.org. “Everything exploded; there was nothing left. Everything else is in ashes now. It’s a huge miracle that no one was hurt.”
The only things in the Chabad emissaries’ home that remained untouched: the letters and dollars the Lahianys had received from the Rebbe—Rabbi Menachem M. Schneerson, of righteous memory.
Neighbors in the picturesque city in southeastern France provided eyewitness accounts of the attack, and French police confirmed that accelerants were found in the garden, further indicating the attack was planned. The perpetrators have not yet been publicly identified.
“The first thing my father said was ‘G‑d is with us wherever we go,’ ” said Perets. “My mother cried at first. Forty years of memories, just gone. So many mitzvahs, meals and minyanim in that house. We can’t believe it all went up in flames.”
Speaking from her home in Los Angeles, Perets shared that there are more miracles in the episode than even meet the eye. “It’s a crazy story; it’s just unbelievable,” she said.
Thanksgiving Begets Thanksgiving
That Shabbat morning in Grenoble, about six hours southeast of Paris, was meant to be one of celebration. Members of the Lahiany family had come from far and wide, including the United States, to celebrate a series of miracles that had unfolded over the previous year.
“Last year, one of my brothers had a baby girl,” said Perets. “She got sick right after birth and was admitted to the NICU. A few months later and after many prayers, she was discharged, and my brother made a seudat hoda’ah —a meal of thanksgiving to G‑d.”
At that celebratory meal, Perets’s brother made a raffle—the prize being a ticket to New York to visit the resting place of the Rebbe. His son won and went for Lag Ba’Omer with his cousin. While in New York, the pair were in a serious car crash on the highway. The vehicle was totaled, but no one was injured.
So the family decided to make a second seudat hoda’ah, and scheduled it for the Shabbat of July 5. Family members arrived with their children to be there. Perets’s sister had arrived on Thursday evening and was still jetlagged from the flight. She was so tired that on Shabbat morning, she wasn’t sure whether she even had the energy to walk to the Chabad center to attend the community gathering and festive meal.
“Thank G‑d, she came to join the family. I can’t imagine what would’ve happened had she stayed in the house,” Perets shudders.
Then came the attack.
Since the fire, the Lahianys have been staying at the home of another daughter who lives nearby in Grenoble, as no suitable alternative has been offered by local authorities. An option proposed by the local mayor—a dilapidated apartment in a high-crime neighborhood—was deemed unsafe.
The attack wasn’t the first sign of hostility against Jews in the city. In recent months, Rabbi Lahiany’s car tires had been slashed repeatedly, forcing him to park away from the street. Verbal abuse and antisemitic slurs have also increased sharply since the Palestinian massacre of 1,200 Israelis on Oct. 7, 2023.
The local Jewish community has responded to their Chabad emissaries’ plight with love, providing clothing, supplies and solidarity. From amid the ashes, the Lahiany’s message is one of faith and resilience: that gratitude to G‑d saved their lives—and that they will rebuild, stronger than before.
“I think, as my parents said, you have to know what’s important,” said Perets. “You’re a Jew. G‑d is with you everywhere, even when you don’t have a house. The gratefulness to G‑d is what saved our lives. We must be thankful. We will build even more and bigger. That’s what the Rebbe taught us. Don’t let anyone put you down. We’re more motivated than ever.”
To help the Lahianys rebuild, click here.
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