Toulouse victims to be buried in Israel

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JERUSALEM (JTA) — The four victims of the attack at a Jewish school in France will be buried in Israel.

The burials in Jerusalem are scheduled for Wednesday. The bodies will be flown from Toulouse to Paris by the French Air Force, and then to Israel by El Al Airlines.

A man riding a motorbike opened fire Monday outside the Ozar Hatorah School in Toulouse, where students were waiting to enter the building at the start of the school day, before fleeing.

Rabbi Jonathan Sandler, 30, and his 4- and 5-year-old sons, Gabriel and Arieh, as well as the 7-year-old daughter of the school’s principal, were killed in the attack.

Sandler is reported to be a French citizen, though he studied in yeshiva,in Jerusalem for many years. His wife and children are dual French-Israeli citizens, according to reports.

The Sandler family reportedly moved to France from Israel last year to serve as emissaries for two years on behalf of the the Kollel Zichron Shimon, where Sandler worked and studied, preparing French students to become Jewish studies teachers and rabbis, according to Haaretz.

France’s ambassador to Israel, Kristoff Bigot, said Tuesday in the Knesset that "This is not just a case of crimes against the victims. This is a crime against democracy and against Israel’s and France’s shared values."

Bigot said there is a "great deal of shock in France" in the wake of the "barbaric attack."
 

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