Alleged killer’s mother heads to Israel

The mother of Julien Soufir, a French immigrant who confessed to the murder of an Israeli Arab taxi driver, is traveling to Israel. The Union of Jewish Communities in the Paris region said that the mother, who is to arrive in Israel on Wednesday, is hoping to “understand what happened” and pay a condolence call to the family of the victim, Taysir Karaki. To her, the only plausible explanation to this act would be a “brutal fit of madness,” said Sammy Ghozlan, president of the union. Ghozlan condemned the act and expressed sympathy for the family of the victim, a father of five. According to investigations made by the union, Soufir, 26, suffered from depression after he immigrated to Israel three years ago following a divorce and professional failure. Soufir’s friends said he recently became religiously observant and took a great interest in Kabbalah, and believed he was the Messiah.