Three young Jewish men came under attack Saturday afternoon on their way to synagogue in the French city of Villeurbanne near Lyon, sustaining injuries inflicted by upwards of 10 men described as being of North-African origin.

Shmuel Mikias, 18, Levi Azoulay, 19, and Shmuel Bitton, 23, had just left a friend’s house where they had enjoyed a Sabbath lunch and were walking towards the Ecole Beth Menachem – a Chabad-Lubavitch run community school where they attended high school – when they encountered three men.

The non-Jewish men “swore at them, spat on them and beat them,” detailed the father. The boys “thought that was the end, but after walking just another 500 meters, 10 more people started attacking them with hammers and iron bars.”

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Azoulay’s son sustained an open head wound and one of his friends was injured in his neck. Both required hospitalization.

“They struck my son’s head with a hammer,” said Azoulay. “His head was opened. He needed four stitches.”

The perpetrators fled when police arrived.

The French-raised Azoulay called attacks such as Saturday’s, which came less than three months after an Arab gunman slaughtered four outside the Ozar Hatorah Jewish high school in Toulouse, a new phenomenon.

“Things weren’t like this before,” said Azoulay, “This is a new problem we are facing because of conflicts with the Arabs.”

The European Jewish Press quoted a statement from French Interior Minister Manuel Valls as denouncing all anti-Semitic acts as attacks on French society. (On Monday, the Service de Protection de la Communauté Juive, a Jewish communal protection agency, released a report tallying 148 anti-Semitic incidents in March and April, 43 of which were violent.)

“These extremely serious acts are a deliberate attack against our republic, which allows everyone, without exception, to live freely and in safety in their religious affiliation,” said Valls.

Rabbi Chalom Gurewitz of Chabad-Lubavitch of Lyon-Villeurbanne similarly observed that physical attacks on Jewish community members have been increasing.

“Since Toulouse, there’s been a lot of tension,” said Gurewitz.

The rabbi noted, however, that the community would remain steadfast in its determination to live proudly as Jews. He pointed out that Bitton, one of the men who came under attack, decided not to postpone his upcoming wedding, scheduled for Sunday.

Though Azoulay said he will continue to walk around his city, he said his son will need more time to once again feel safe.

“I am angry and hurt,” said the father. “But I am feeling mostly anger.”