JERUSALEM – Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has told French Jews, after 17 people were killed there during three days of Islamist attacks, that Israel is their home.
“To all the Jews of France, all the Jews of Europe, I would like to say that Israel is not just the place in whose direction you pray, the state of Israel is your home,” he said in a televised statement yesterday, referring to the Jewish practice of facing Jerusalem during prayer.
“Unless the world comes to its senses, terror will continue to strike in other places,” he added in remarks on his official Twitter account.
Four of the fatalities occurred during an attack on a Jewish supermarket.
Media said he had ordered a ministerial committee to convene next week to discuss ways to encourage immigration of French and other European Jews to Israel.
They said Mr Netanyahu had considered attending Sunday’s mass rally in Paris but was obliged to drop the idea because of security concerns.
