The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) on Sunday held a memorial event in Jerusalem, marking the first anniversary of the attacks on the offices of the satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo and the Hyper Cacher supermarket in Paris. The memorial was held in cooperation with Qualita, the umbrella organization of French olim in Israel.
The memorial was attended by French Ambassador Patrick Maisonnave, former Israeli ambassador to France Daniel Shek, Israeli cartoonist Michel Kichka who was born in Belgium, as well as Patrice Walid, who managed the Hyper Cacher and was wounded in the attack before making aliyah to Israel.
Ambassador Maisonnave said in his speech that "radical Islam is our common enemy. Terrorism is terrorism and there are very clear and criteria equal to what constitutes terror anywhere in the world."
The ambassador quoted French Prime Minister Manuel Valls, who said at a memorial for the Hyper Cacher victims on Saturday night in Paris that there is nothing that can justify murder anywhere in the world.
Walid recalled the horrible day of the attack at the Hyper Cacher, and explained his reasoning for making aliyah.
"The terrorist instilled fear in us, he came to kill us simply because we are Jews and because I wear tzitzit. I did not move to Israel out of fear, I came home," he stressed.
Speaking to Arutz Sheva at the memorial, Ambassador Maisonnave said, “It was very important to organize such an event, because it was not only an opportunity to remember, it was also very important to tell French Jews and the Jews who decided to come here to make aliyah that what was done in Paris one year ago was unacceptable and remains unacceptable.”
“We understand Israel and all forms of terrorism must be condemned,” he continued. “As far as France is concerned, we condemn terrorism wherever it takes place. There is nothing that can justify terrorism wherever it takes place in the world.”