Arutz Sheva was at the funeral on Wednesday of the four victims of
the shooting attack at the Otzar Hatorah in Toulouse, France.
Thousands of people crowded along the route to the Har HaMenuchot
cemetery in the Givat Shaul neighborhood in Jerusalem, as Rabbi
Yonatan Sandler, his two sons Aryeh and Gavriel, and eight-year-old
Miriam Monsonego were laid to rest.
Some of the attendees later spoke to Arutz Sheva and said that while
they were shocked at the brutal murders, they were not surprised by
them.
“I’m not surprised. I’m shocked, horrified, but not surprised,” said
Elisha Shapira who made aliyah from France to Israel. “I witnessed
the development of anti-Semitism, of Jews being targeted in all kind
of violent ways. It’s not a surprise that it came to that.”
Natan Sharansky, the Chairman of the Jewish Agency, admitted that
while the tragedy itself is “a big shock”, the fact that it
happened “should not be a big surprise.”
Sharansky said that there are possibly thousands of terrorists who
now reside in Europe and can act at any moment. He added, “It was
easy to let them enter Europe, but it’s more difficult now to destroy
this network of terror. That’s a big challenge to European
governments but it’s also a challenge for the State of Israel.”
Anne-Marie Revcolevschi, the President of the Aladdin Project which
aims to bridge between Jews and Muslims, warned that what really
incites murder is anti-Semitic words and statements.
