Israel buries Jews slain in Paris attack

A funeral has been held in Israel for four Jewish men killed by an Islamist gunman in Paris, amid fears France is becoming hostile territory for Jews.

An Israeli soldier comforts a man at a cemetery in Jerusalem on January 13, 2015 during the funeral of four Jews killed in an Islamist attack on a kosher supermarket in Paris last week. Crowds of mourners were attending the funeral of Yohan Cohen, Philippe Braham, Francois-Michel Saada and Yoav Hattab after their bodies were flown to Israel from France early in the mourning for burial in the Jewish state. (MENAHEM KAHANA/AFP/Getty Images

Israel has held an emotional funeral for four Jews killed by an Islamist gunman in Paris, with thousands turning out to mourn the victims of an attack that shook the Jewish community.

Shock and sorrow was palpable in the crowd on Tuesday as family members and top Israeli officials stood to pay tribute to the four men who were shot dead on Friday when an Islamic extremist stormed a kosher supermarket.

They were among 17 people gunned down in Paris during three days of bloodshed that began with a grisly attack on the satirical weekly Charlie Hebdo, in violence that convulsed France and sent shock waves through its Jewish community, the third-largest in the world.

The four bodies were flown to Israel early on Tuesday for a joint funeral, after which they were laid to rest in a more private ceremony at the sprawling Givat Shaul cemetery on the western outskirts of Jerusalem.

"This is not how we wanted to welcome you to Israel," said President Reuven Rivlin, addressing the victims by name as he fought back tears during the ceremony attended by more than 2500 people including Israeli political leaders.

"We wanted you alive."

Rivlin said that it was unacceptable that Jews were once again living in fear in Europe.

"We cannot allow that in 2015, 70 years since the end of World War II, Jews are afraid to walk in the streets of Europe" wearing a skullcap and prayer shawl, he said.

On a sunny but freezing winter morning, French flags were flying across the city alongside signs reading: "Jerusalem is with the French people, we are all Charlie".

The attack on the supermarket, which killed Yoav Hattab, 21, Philippe Braham, 45, Yohan Cohen, 20, and Francois-Michel Saada, 63, has left the Jewish community in both France and Israel badly shaken.

Lighting a torch of remembrance, Yonatan Saada said his father had longed to move to Israel.

"He was in love with Israel, he wanted to live here," he said, his voice breaking.

"He's here now."

For many Israelis, the killings were further evidence that France is becoming hostile territory for Jews and proof that the authorities there are unable to protect them.

But French Ecology Minister Segolene Royal, who was representing Paris at the funeral, sought to reassure the Jewish community, saying anti-Semitism "has no place in France".

"I want to assure you of the unfailing determination of the French government to fight against all forms and acts of anti-Semitism," she told mourners.

French migration to Israel hit a record high last year of 6600 people, and many believe the trend will accelerate, with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu making a personal appeal to the Jews of France, saying Israel is their "home".

Addressing the crowds, Netanyahu said world leaders were beginning to understand the threat posed by extremist Islam.

"I think that most (world leaders) understand -- or are at least starting to understand -- that this terror committed by extremist Islam represents a clear and present threat to peace in the world in which we live," he said.

"Islamist terror ... is not just the enemy of the Jewish people but of all humanity. It is time all people of all cultures united to eject these elements from among us."