PARIS (AFP)--- The number of anti-Semitic attacks in France jumped by 45 percent between 2005 and 2006, a year that saw a young Jewish man tortured to death by a gang of kidnappers, new figures revealed on Monday.

According to CRIF, the umbrella group for French Jewish organisations, 112 cases of assault were reported in 2006 to a telephone hotline for the victims of anti-Semitism, against 77 the previous year.

The overall number of anti-Semitic acts -- both physical violence and vandalism -- rose 40 percent from 134 to 213, while reported anti-Semitic insults rose 71 percent, from 48 to 82.

"In virtually all cases of assault, there is no doubt that anti-Semitism is a motive," the CRIF said in a statement, adding that "anti-Semitic acts are sometimes committed with real determination, sometimes by mere opportunism."

"Insults are often accompanied by references to the extermination of Jews during World War II," it said.

Murder of Ilan Halimi

The number of violent incidents peaked following the murder in February of Ilan Halimi, a 23-year-old Jewish man who was lured into a honey trap by a gang from the Paris suburbs, and held for ransom before being tortured to death.

Relations between France and Israel have often been strained over the question of anti-Semitism. In comments made in 2004, Israel's former Prime Minister Ariel Sharon urged France's Jews to emigrate immediately to Israel, due to the threats he said they faced at home. His declarations had been sharply criticised by politicians as well as by Jewish leaders.

Many in France’s 600,000-strong Jewish community -- one of the world’s largest -- saw the crime as chilling evidence of a rising trend of anti-Semitism, particularly among the country’s five million Muslims.

The report noted a second peak in July and August, coinciding with Israel’s military campaign against the Shiite militia Hezbollah in Lebanon. 

Although the number of reported incidents dropped in the last quarter of 2006, the CRIF said the Jewish community must remain "fully vigilant" in the light of "uncertainties" in international affairs.

The country has seen a steady rise in anti-Semitic acts since 2000, coinciding with the start of the second intifada or Palestinian uprising, a cause supported by many in France’s Muslim community.