(Communicated by the Foreign Ministry Spokesman)
After the appalling
murders in Toulouse, the Israeli Embassy in Paris, as well as the Israeli Consulate in Marseille, have contacted the bereaved families and learned of their desire to bring their loved ones to Israel for burial. The government of Israel has therefore decided to transfer the coffins to Israel as soon as possible, with the cooperation and assistance of Israel's representatives in France and in coordination with the French authorities.
The names of the victims are: Rabbi Jonathan Sandler, Gabriel Sandler (age 4), Arieh Sandler (age 5), Miriam Monsonego (age 7).
The coffins arrived in Israel early Wednesday morning, March 21, by El Al flight from Paris. The coffins were transferred to Jerusalem by ZAKA ambulances, where they were buried at the Givat Shaul Cemetery.
DepFM Ayalon with French FM Alain Juppé with one of the coffins
on arrival at Ben Gurion Airport (Photo: Gideon Markovitch)
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Foreign Minister Avigdor Liberman expressed profound shock at the attack, saying that "Only a person possessed with demonic evil could carry out such a terrible murder of small children at a school."
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Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu: "Today we had a savage crime in France that gunned down French Jews, among them children. It’s too early to say what the precise background for this act of murder is, but I think that we can’t rule out that there was a strong murderous anti-Semitic motive here. I'm sure that Nicolas Sarkozy, the President of France, and his government will do their utmost to find the killer and we, in Israel will do everything to help them in this task."