By: Fern Sidman

More than four decades after the deadliest antisemitic attack in France since World War II, survivors and families of victims will finally see the case brought before a court. A French tribunal announced this week that six Palestinians will stand trial in connection with the August 9, 1982, terrorist assault on the Chez Jo Goldenberg Jewish restaurant in Paris, which left six people dead and 22 others wounded.

According to a report that appeared at The Jewish News Syndicate (JNS), the decision marks a watershed moment in France’s long and difficult reckoning with Palestinian terrorism on its soil. Survivors who have carried the trauma of the attack for more than 40 years will now have an opportunity to follow legal proceedings against the men alleged to have carried out the assault.

The 1982 massacre shocked France and reverberated globally. Around midday, assailants armed with grenades and machine guns stormed the packed restaurant in the historic Marais neighborhood, indiscriminately firing upon diners. Two of those killed were American citizens from Chicago, underscoring the international dimension of the tragedy.

Jo Goldenberg, the restaurant’s owner, recalled the horror in an interview two decades later. “They fired on everyone who was eating lunch—everyone,” Goldenberg told reporters, as cited in the JNS report. The restaurant, which once drew both tourists and locals alike, never recovered from the notoriety of the attack and ultimately closed its doors.

For survivors and relatives of victims, the trial represents not only a long-awaited step toward accountability but also an opportunity to confront those accused. David Père, a lawyer representing families, emphasized that the trial is not merely a matter of history but a continuing reality for those affected. “For them, this is not about the past but the present. It’s a trial they intend to follow day by day,” he told the Associated Press.

One survivor, still deeply scarred by the violence, has expressed a desire to see the suspects in person and “try to understand,” Père said. The trial is expected to begin in early 2026 before a special terrorism court in Paris.

The six Palestinians accused of involvement were members of the Abu Nidal Organization, a splinter terrorist faction that broke away from Yasser Arafat’s Fatah movement. According to JNS, the suspects include:

Mohamed Souhair al-Abassi (alias Amjad Atta), alleged ringleader, currently in Jordan. Authorities there have refused extradition.

Mahmoud Khader Abed Adra (alias Hicham Harb), believed to reside in either Judea and Samaria or Jordan.

Nabil Hassan Mahmoud Othmane (alias Ibrahim Hamza), whereabouts uncertain but thought to be in the same region.

Nizar Tawfiq Moussa Hamada (alias Hani), also presumed to be in Jordan or Judea and Samaria.

Walid Abdulrahman Abu Zayed, who immigrated to Norway, extradited to France in 2020, and will be present for the trial.

Hazza Taha, recently detained in Paris.

Four of the men are expected to be tried in absentia.

The report at JNS explained that the complexities of international extradition have long frustrated French authorities, who had issued multiple international arrest warrants over the years without success.

The Abu Nidal Organization (ANO), led by Sabri Khalil al-Banna—better known by his nom de guerre, Abu Nidal—was one of the most feared terrorist groups of the late 20th century. Founded in 1974 as Fatah: The Revolutionary Council, the group distinguished itself from Arafat’s mainstream Fatah movement by embracing ruthless international terrorism.

According to the information provided in the JNS report, the ANO is believed responsible for at least 20 major attacks that killed an estimated 275 people. Among the most infamous was the 1985 assault on El Al ticket counters in Rome and Vienna, which left 18 people dead. Unlike today’s Islamist-inspired terrorist factions such as Hamas, the ANO was rooted in radical Palestinian nationalism, though its operations were often indiscriminate and brutal.

The Paris deli attack became one of the group’s signature atrocities, symbolizing its willingness to target Jewish civilians far from the Middle East.

The announcement of the trial coincided with another terrorism-related decision by French courts. As reported by JNS, France recently released Georges Ibrahim Abdallah, a 74-year-old Lebanese national who spent 40 years in prison for the 1982 murders of Israeli diplomat Yacov Barsimantov and American military attaché Charles Ray.

The Paris Appeals Court authorized Abdallah’s release on July 25, arguing that he posed “no serious risk in terms of committing new terrorism acts.” He was expelled immediately to Lebanon.

The decision drew swift criticism from the United States. State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce stated on July 27 that Abdallah’s release was a “grave injustice” that “threatens the safety of U.S. diplomats abroad,” according to the report at JNS. The Trump administration vowed to continue supporting efforts to secure accountability for victims of terrorism in France.

The 1982 attack and its aftermath have remained painful reminders of France’s vulnerability to terrorism during the turbulent decades of the late Cold War. For Jewish communities in France, the massacre stands as a turning point—a moment when antisemitism, global terrorism, and domestic security converged in deadly fashion.

As the JNS report emphasized, the upcoming trial provides survivors and victims’ families a rare chance to see justice pursued after years of frustration. It also places renewed attention on the legacy of Palestinian terrorist groups of the 1970s and 1980s, whose violent campaigns left scars across Europe and beyond.

With the trial expected to open in 2026, questions remain about whether key suspects abroad will ever face French justice in person. Yet for many survivors, the trial itself—even in absentia—offers a measure of closure long denied.

As lawyer David Père observed, the proceedings will be closely followed by those who lived through the horror at Chez Jo Goldenberg. For them, the trial is not only a matter of historical record but also an enduring pursuit of justice.

For France, and particularly its Jewish community, the case underscores the enduring challenge of confronting terrorism’s legacy while ensuring that the crimes of the past are neither forgotten nor left unanswered.