Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke with one of the sons of Mireille Knoll, the 85-year-old Holocaust survivor who was stabbed to death in an anti-Semitic attack inside her Paris apartment last month.
In a phone call with Daniel Knoll on Sunday, Netanyahu said, "The story of your dear mother, who was so brutally murdered, is a reminder that the struggles of our people still lie ahead of us. We embrace you."
The phone call with Knoll was arranged through French MP Meyer Habib, who represents France's overseas constituency, including in Israel.
French police discovered the charred body of a Holocaust survivor covered with stab wounds after a fire broke out in her Paris apartment on Friday. The local Jewish community fears the murder was motivated by anti-Semitism.
The fire was reportedly lit at five different points in the apartment, pointing to arson.
Two suspects have been arrested in the case and have been charged with "murder motivated by the real or supposed adherence to a religion, as well as aggravated theft and damage to property."
One of the two suspects is said to be Knoll's 28-year-old neighbor. He was recently released from prison, where he served an eight-month sentence for the sexual assault of a young girl, the report said.
Sources in the Jewish community said Knoll had previously complained about threats from her Muslim neighbor, saying he had even threatened to burn her.
