Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will land in France this morning (Wednesday) for a two-day visit during which he will meet with the president, prime minister and foreign minister of the French republic. Tomorrow, Netanyahu will visit the city of Toulouse where a terrorist attack seven months ago left four Jews dead – three students and a teacher. Before returning to Israel, Netanyahu will participate in a memorial service at the school which will be attended by the families of those murdered.
Prime Minister Netanyahu is scheduled to meet with French President Francois Hollande, Prime Minister Jean Marc Ayrault and Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius in Paris. Tomorrow, Prime Minister Netanyahu will conduct memorial service at the Ohr Torah (formerly Otzar HaTorah) school in Toulouse, where a teacher, Yochanan Sandler, his two sons, six-year-old Aryeh and four-year-old Gabriel, and Miriam Monsonego, the eight year old daughter of the principal, were killed last March.
Netanyahu will meet with Hollande at 7 AM, NY time, and will focus mainly on the Iranian nuclear program, two weeks after the European Union imposed additional sanctions against Iran. Netanyahu will most likely find in Hollande a sympathetic ally, as France is one of the leading countries in demanding imposing further sanctions against Iran.
“I am going to France to meet with President Hollande today. I will discuss the Iranian nuclear threat with him as well as the challenges of the peace process and our security situation in light of the regional unrest,” said Netanyahu before take-off.
The Monsonego and Sandler families will take part in the memorial ceremony alongside Netanyahu and Hollande. Prime Minister Netanyahu and his wife will meet with Ohr Torah’s teachers, student body and parents before the ceremony. Afterwards, Netanyahu will return to Israel where he is occupied, at the moment, with totally different topics – like the pre-election tumult.