Johannesburg - The SA Jewish Board of Deputies (SAJBD) on Sunday expressed sympathy and solidarity with France following a spate of terrorist attacks this week.
“The SA Jewry will stand together with the people of France as they mourn their dead and pray for their wounded,” said the board in a statement.
“Our thoughts and prayers are with the victims and families of the journalists, members of law enforcement and our fellow Jewish community who lost their lives during this brutual rampage through Paris.”
On Wednesday, two brothers, Said and Cherif Kouachi - reportedly linked to al-Qaeda - staged an attack at the Paris offices of French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo.
Twelve people, including the editor and three cartoonists, other magazine staffers and two policemen were gunned down.
The al-Qaeda's branch in Yemen has reportedly claimed responsibility for the Hebdo attack as retaliation for the magazine's frequent satirical portrayals of the Prophet Muhammad.
Subsequently, an accomplice of the brothers, Amedy Coulibaly, killed a police officer on Friday then killed four hostages in a kosher grocery in Paris.
On the same day, the brothers were corned at the offices of a printing company, near the Charles de Gaulle Airport in Paris, and eventually killed during a shootout with police.
“We remain resolute in our commitment to fighting global terrorism,” said the SAJBD.
Sapa