Thousands of mourners gathered at Jerusalem’s Mount of Rest cemetery Tuesday for the funeral of Philipe Braham, Yohan Cohen, Yoav Hattab, and Francois-Michel Saada, the four victims of Friday’s attack on a Paris kosher supermarket.
The service, which was conducted in Hebrew and French, was attended by thousands of Israeli citizens and tourists, as well as public officials from Shas leader Eli Yishai to French Minister of Energy and Environment Segolene Royal. Many of those who thronged the streets bore signs announcing their support, or waved French flags. Some Jews recited Psalms, and family members of the deceased tore their clothing in mourning.
The victims’ family members, who requested that the men be buried in Israel, made brief eulogies about their loved ones, standing on a stage adorned with a huge Israeli flag.
“Philippe, my love, my dear, was a perfect man,” Braham’s wife, Valerie, said, at times openly weeping. “A man who thinks first and foremost about others and not about himself. A great husband and a father who lives for his children.” Valerie mentioned that she also has a son buried in Israel.
Rabbi Betto Hattab, the chief Rabbi of Tunis and father of the youngest victim, 21-year-old, told the crowd, “I accept the judgment of Heaven with love.”
François-Michel Saada’s son, Jonathan, spoke of the significance of burying his father in Israel. “He really wanted to live here, and he will. He’s here now, and I’m sure he’s really happy to be with you here.”
A major theme of addresses by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and President Reuven Rivlin was the anti-Semitism inherent in the attack, and how the murders were a sign that Israel is a necessary safe haven for world Jewry.
“Yoav, Yohan, Phillipe, Francois-Michel—this is not how we wanted to welcome you to Israel,” Rivlin said in a passionate speech that urged Diaspora Jewry to immigrate. “We wanted you alive, we wanted for you, life.”
“Jews have the right to live in many countries,” Netanyahu said, “And it’s their right to live there with full security. But I believe they know, deep in their hearts, that they have one country, the state of Israel, that is their historic homeland.”
The funeral ended with the crowd singing Israeli national anthem.
Also buried at the same cemetery are the victims of the 2012 Jewish school shooting in Toulouse, France.
Gabriela Geselowitz is an intern at Tablet.
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Gabriela Geselowitz is a writer and the former editor of Jewcy.com.
