Toulouse: Rabbi Jonathan Sandler and sons buried in Israel
French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe sits (C-L) next to mourners in front of the bodies of teacher Jonathan Sandler (L), and his children Gabriel 4, Arieh 5, and Miriam Monsonego 7 (R) victims of Toulouse school shooting, during their funeral in Jerusalem on March 21, 2012.
Rabbi Jonathan Sandler and the three young victims of a gunman in Toulouse were buried on Wednesday in Jerusalem, according to the Associated Press.
The four were slain on Monday when a man on a motorcycle opened fire in front of the Ozar Hatorah Jewish school. French police are engaged in a standoff with the suspect, Mohammed Merah, at an apartment building in Toulouse.
More on GlobalPost: Toulouse shootings: Suspect Mohammed Merah under police siege (PHOTOS)
The bodies of the victims, including Rabbi Sandler, his sons Arieh, 5, and Gabriel, 3, and Myriam Monsenego, 8, were flown to Israel early on Wednesday, said the AP.
Myriam's eldest brother wept, calling for God to give his parents the strength "to endure the worst trial that can be endured."
Eva Sandler, the widow of Rabbi Sandler and the mother of two of the victims, cried out, "Come back home," to where they lay in freshly covered graves. Sandler is expecting another child and has one remaining toddler.
According to Israeli newspaper Ha'aretz, Rabbi Sandler was born in Paris and had gone to school in Toulouse. He lived and studied for some time in Jerusalem before returning to France last September.
More on GlobalPost: Toulouse: French children, teacher killed in Jewish school shooting (VIDEO)
The AFP reported that at least 2,000 mourners could be seen at the Givat Shaul cemetery. The rabbi and his sons were wrapped in white prayer shawls while Myriam was wrapped in a blue shroud embellished with gold.
Among the attendees were French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe, Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Yishai and parliamentary speaker Reuven Rivlin.
The story you just read is available for free because thousands of listeners and readers like you generously support our nonprofit newsroom. Every day, reporters and producers at The World are hard at work bringing you human-centered news from across the globe. But we can’t do it without you: We need your support to ensure we can continue this work for another year.
Make a gift today, and you’ll get us one step closer to our goal of raising $25,000 by June 14. We need your help now more than ever!