Israeli trauma experts are expected soon to fly to Toulouse to help residents there cope with the aftermath of the terror attack at a Jewish day school that left four dead and a teenager critically wounded earlier this year.
An Israeli delegation of trauma experts is expected to arrive in the coming weeks to help members of the Jewish community, including the students and their families deal with the tragedy that rocked their neighborhood.
Jewish Agency Chairman Natan Sharansky announced the initiative during a visit to the French city Monday.
During his stay, Sharansky met with Yaakov Monsenegro, principal of Otzar HaTorah, whose daughter Miriam was murdered in the attack. Rabbi Jonathan Sandler and his two sons, Arye and Gavriel were also killed during the March 20 shooting spree by Al Qaeda-linked terrorist Mohammed Merah, and a 17-year-old boy was critically injured. The victims were laid to rest in Jerusalem.
Dr. Roni Stauber, head of the Program for Study of Anti-Semitism and Racisim at the Kantor Center, last month called the massacre a “classic anti-Semitic incident perpetrated by someone who… attacked Jews as part of his political outlook – that is why he attacked Jews.”
Merah was a member of the Forsane Alizza (“Knights of Pride”) organization, a banned group that included 16 Muslim extremists arrested last month for plotting to kidnap a Jewish judge in Lyon, as well as others.