Arsonists Destroy Jewish Center in Paris.

PARIS - Arsonists destroyed a Jewish community center in eastern Paris in a pre-dawn attack Sunday and left behind anti-Semitic graffiti, police said.

No one was hurt as flames tore through the center located on the first floor of a six-story building. The center, which served as a meeting place and cafeteria for the elderly and disadvantaged, was gutted, rescue officials said.

Firefighters were called to the scene at about 3:30 a.m. and extinguished the flames by early morning.

Authorities immediately suspected the fire was set deliberately. Inside the building, investigators found anti-Semitic graffiti and swastikas scrawled in red marker. One message read, “Without the Jews, the world is happy,” while another said, “Jews get out.”

UPDATE at 8/22/04 1:40:33 pm:

Anti-Semitic graffiti reading ‘death to Jews’ and a Swastika are seen on a wall on the grounds of Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris, Saturday, Aug. 14, 2004. Police cordoned off part of the esplanade in front of the cathedral after the graffiti was discovered Saturday morning on a low wall that runs along the side of the cathedral facing the Seine River. (AP Photo/Frank Prevel)