BICOM

Thousands of people gathered last night at Place de la Nation in Paris for a solidarity march with the family of murdered Holocaust survivor Mireille Knoll, who was killed a week ago.

Knoll, who was 85, was stabbed to death inside her apartment, which was later set on fire. Police arrested two individuals who were charged on Monday for her murder, motivated by antisemitism. Knoll’s family and leaders of the French Jewish community led the silent march which was joined by political leaders, civil society organisations and religious leaders.

The Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday said: “Israel is appalled at the heinous murder of Mireille Knoll in Paris. The murder of the 85-year-old Holocaust survivor, prompted by antisemitism and blind hatred, underlines the need to continue combating antisemitism in all its variations. Israel welcomes the determined, unequivocal stand of the President of France and the French establishment, which condemned the murder and expressed complete commitment to the fight against antisemitism.”

Minister of Education and Diaspora Affairs Naftali Bennet said: “I send my condolences to the family of Mireille Knoll, who was murdered by antisemites in Paris on Friday. The authorities in France are responsible for the safety of their Jewish citizens, and for the prosecution of the despicable murderers. The murder of an 85-year-old Holocaust survivor, killed only because she was Jewish, cannot be allowed to go unanswered.”

French President Emmanuel Macron attended her funeral and said: “[They] murdered an innocent and defenceless woman purely because she was Jewish. In doing so, [they] struck our sacred values and our history.”

Robert Ejnes, Executive Director of the CRIF (Conseil Représentatif des Institutions Juives de France), a French Jewish organisation said: “Mireille Knoll’s face are the face of everybody’s grandmother; a kind, gentle and smiling lady who harmed no one. This image of her touched many. In fact, it created a sort of solidarity that we did not experience here before. Suddenly people realised that she was not the first Jewish person attacked and killed in her own home… President Macron presented to us just a few days ago his program for fighting antisemitism. He is fully committed to this battle, the same way his predecessors were also committed.”