Toulouse, France – Jonathan Sandler, 30, was killed Monday in a shooting that took place in Toulouse, France. Born in Paris, he spent his life studying Torah and working in Jewish community outreach. Sandler was father to two sons, Aryeh, aged six, and Gavriel, aged three, who were also killed in the attack. Sandler is survived by his wife and four-year-old daughter.
As a child, Sandler was sent to school in Toulouse. When he finished, he went to study in a yeshiva in Jerusalem, where he continued to live for three years. Four-and-a-half years ago, Sandler went back to France and got married. Following that, he returned to Jerusalem, and lived in Jerusalem’s Kiryat Hayovel neighborhood.
Sandler studied at Kollel Zichron Shimon, preparing young French students to become rabbis and teachers. Like many graduates of the school, Sandler went with his family last September to work in a Jewish community in France, where they settled in Toulouse.
Sandler was well known in France’s Jewish community for his column in a French Jewish newspaper. His column focused on outreach with secular Jews and theological questions. Sandler also performed outreach work with secular Jews as a volunteer for the organization, “Shoresh,” which works in community outreach.
Aharon Getz, a friend of Sandler’s said the father of three was a “delightful ma,” adding that “He had a wonderful connection with his fellow students and the communities in which he worked.”