French immigration to Israel rising

July 5 - From the Sunday Times - Israel Sees a Surge in Immigration by French Jews, but Why?:

JERUSALEM, July 1 - More French Jews have been immigrating to Israel or buying properties here as potential havens, and the Israelis and the French are debating whether the trend is a result of a surge in anti-Semitic attacks in France or just a cyclical oddity.

The Jewish Agency, the quasi-governmental body responsible for settling immigrants, reported a doubling in the number of French Jews who arrived last year and in 2002, to more than 2,000 each year, compared with about 1,000 a year in the previous three years. By contrast, worldwide immigration to Israel has sharply declined during the Arab-Israeli violence.

Michael Jankelowitz, a spokesman for the Jewish Agency, said that as a result of attacks against Jews in France in the past three years, many Jews, particularly those whose religion is evident from their clothes, were feeling increasingly uneasy. Much of the tension has centered in working-class suburbs of Paris where Jews and Muslims mingle.

Gérard Araud, the French ambassador to Israel, played down the influx, suggesting in an interview that emigration is cyclical. He noted that during the "golden years" of quiet after the Oslo accords between Israel and the Palestinians, there were years when the number of French Jews who immigrated to Israel was quite high, once hitting 1,800. "It's a flow, not a flight," he said.

He also contended that there had been as many anti-Semitic incidents per capita in Italy and Belgium, but that France got the most attention because of its larger Jewish population.

You ever notice how some people just don't know when to shut up? I guess he couldn't help himself:

He also noted that most recent attacks had been by North African Muslims angered over Israeli treatment of Palestinians ...

The French Ambassador to Israel says that it's Israel's fault that French Jews are being attacked by not really French North African Muslims. Isn't French diplomacy amazing?

... and therefore could not be linked to historical incidents of French anti-Semitism like the Dreyfus affair or the Vichy government's collaboration with the Nazis.

More cynical types might think that the failure of the real French to stand solidly beside their Jewish compatriots today is extremely reminiscent of the Vichy government's collaboration with the Nazis ...

Thank you, M Araud, for making the case as to why Jews feel a compelling need for a defensible homeland.

Posted by: Debbye at 02:48 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
Post contains 432 words, total size 3 kb.