Ilan Halimi, a French Jew murdered by Moslems in Paris last year, will be reburied on the one-year anniversary of his funeral in Jerusalem on Friday.
Halimi’s body is to be flown to Israel on El Al on Thursday and will be interred at Jerusalem’s Givat Shaul Cemetery in a special memorial ceremony.
“As leaders in the struggle against anti-Semitism around the world, we felt committed to extend this Jewish act of kindness, not only to do justice to Ilan and his family, but also as an expression of the commitment never to tire in our struggle against anti-Semitism, to raise our voices in every international forum, to eradicate the manifestations of hatred and racism seen today,” Jewish Agency Chairman Ze’ev Bielski said.
Halimi's mother and two sisters, Israel Chief Rabbi Shlomo Amar, France's Chief Rabbi Joseph Sitruk, French Ambassador to Israel Jean-Michel Casa and President of the European Jewish Congress Pierre Besnainou, as well as leaders of the Jewish community in France and senior Jewish Agency and World Zionist Organization officials are expected to attend the funeral in Jerusalem.
The reburial in Jerusalem represents “the closing of a circle from a Zionist perspective,” Bielski said.