Police Arrest Two Suspects in the Death of French Jewish Politician

On Monday, police arrested two suspects in the death of Alain Ghozland, z”l, a French Jewish politician in Créteil, a suburb of Paris, according to news reports.

Ghozland, 73, was found dead last Tuesday by his brother, who went to his apartment to check on him after he failed to attend shul. Police said that the apartment showed signs of forced entry and that many items had been stolen.

According to police, the suspects, aged 21 and 23, have previously committed crimes together. One suspect was apprehended after leaving DNA at the crime scene, while the other suspect’s cellphone revealed that he had been at the site during the crime.

After Ghozland was found dead, initial reports indicated that police had been unsure as to whether he had actually been killed, or had suffered a heart attack during the robbery. However, Haaretz reports that a subsequent examination of the body showed that Ghozland had been beaten, and died by suffocation.

Mr. Ghozland, who was born in Algeria, was deputy mayor of Créteil and a member of its town council. Créteil is located about 10 miles outside of Paris.

It is still unclear whether the attack was motivated by anti-Semitism.