CRIF was scandalised by the expressions of joy that were seen in Gaza and Lebanon following the announcement of these killings.
A CRIF delegation, lead by its President Richard Prasquier, went to Israel to express support and solidarity for the families of the victims and for the Israeli people.
Back from Jerusalem, Richard Prasquier said, “Saturday evening, we were at the hospital to visit the wounded from the attack against the Merkaz Harav yeshiva perpetrated on the evening of the 6th of March.
In the intensive care unit, Naphtali Chetrit, 14, is fighting against death. He was wounded during the attack in which eight of his friends lost their life, children of his age who were studying in the high school section of the yeshiva (…) Naphtali’s family was in the corridor, they come from Sderot and until that moment had been reassured by the young boy’s presence in what they thought was safe Jerusalem. What a paradox! We shall not forget the mother’s eyes, which spoke volumes. Anguish, trust, love, all bound up in a kind of serenity.
We then went to offer our condolences to the Cohen’s who had lost a son, Neria. The family was of Tunisian origin, settled for many years in Jerusalem’s Old City, in the Arab quarter, not far from Ariel Sharon’s home. The father teaches at the Ateret Cohanim yeshiva, like the father of another young boy killed during the rampage. They thank us for our presence, a testimony to the unity of the Jewish people, and they encourage us to do our Alyah…
The eight children were buried Friday morning, in accordance with tradition. (…)
What is going to happen now? The consequences of the attack on a day-to-day basis are scarcely palpable in Jerusalem. Those in the know are able to identify a few extra roadblocks. One can but take stock of the explosions of joy that followed this attack, in Gaza and the territories under Palestinian authority, the first such attack against a yeshiva in Jerusalem (though there had already been similar attacks against yeshivas in other places during the Intifada). (…)
What will happen now to the relations between the Jewish and Arab populations in Jerusalem, whose Arab inhabitants hold the blue resident’s card. Already Dany Yatom is calling for stricter separation measures.
Richard Prasquier
President of CRIF
For his part, CRIF General Director Haim Musicant denounced the Palestinian terrorists who in choosing to attack a yeshiva have sought to destroy humans and their faith.
He insisted on the fact that the terrorists will never succeed to destroy Israel and that there can be no other solution than to resume peace negotiations. The Director General of CRIF also insisted on the sabotage of peace efforts being perpetrated on a daily basis by Hamas, which is launching rockets on the civilians of Sderot. “No government in the world would accept such a situation and refuse to defend its population,” sais Haim Musicant, deploring all the civilian victims. adding moreover that it was high time to put an end to this conflict, which has already cost too many Israeli and Palestinian lives.
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