French 'Aliyah' Leads the World
Monday, September 08, 2014
JERUSALEM, Israel -- Rising anti-Semitism in France is spurring many of the country's Jewish residents to immigrate to Israel.
Today, French Jews are leading the rest of the world in aliyah -- immigration to Israel under the Law of Return -- the Jewish Agency in France reports.
"France is today the leading country for Jewish emigration to Israel," Ariel Kandel, head of the Jewish Agency's French office, said. "We will get close to 6,000 departures from France in 2014."
By August 31, Israel's Ministry of Immigration Absorption showed 4,566 French Jews have immigrated to Israel since the beginning of the year.
France is home to the largest Muslim population in Europe, estimated at around 5 million. The IDF's 50-day operation against Hamas rocket fire sparked widespread anti-Israel rioting in July. The phenomenon, which is not new in France, has many French Jews deciding it's no longer a safe place to live and raise children.
On August 22, two teenage Muslim girls were indicted for conspiracy to commit terrorism, Arutz Sheva quoted a Newsweek report.
According to the report, the teens, aged 15 and 17, from two different cities, communicated via social media. The girls were arrested after the Central Directorate of Homeland Intelligence, France's equivalent of Israel's Shin Bet, revealed a plot to carry out a suicide bombing at the Great Synagogue of Lyon.
In 2012, a rabbi and three children were gunned down by Mohammed Merah at a Jewish day school in Toulouse.
The French Jewish community, down from 600,000 to 500,000, is one of the largest in the world, next to the U.S.
Today, French Jews are leading the rest of the world in aliyah -- immigration to Israel under the Law of Return -- the Jewish Agency in France reports.
"France is today the leading country for Jewish emigration to Israel," Ariel Kandel, head of the Jewish Agency's French office, said. "We will get close to 6,000 departures from France in 2014."
By August 31, Israel's Ministry of Immigration Absorption showed 4,566 French Jews have immigrated to Israel since the beginning of the year.
France is home to the largest Muslim population in Europe, estimated at around 5 million. The IDF's 50-day operation against Hamas rocket fire sparked widespread anti-Israel rioting in July. The phenomenon, which is not new in France, has many French Jews deciding it's no longer a safe place to live and raise children.
On August 22, two teenage Muslim girls were indicted for conspiracy to commit terrorism, Arutz Sheva quoted a Newsweek report.
According to the report, the teens, aged 15 and 17, from two different cities, communicated via social media. The girls were arrested after the Central Directorate of Homeland Intelligence, France's equivalent of Israel's Shin Bet, revealed a plot to carry out a suicide bombing at the Great Synagogue of Lyon.
In 2012, a rabbi and three children were gunned down by Mohammed Merah at a Jewish day school in Toulouse.
The French Jewish community, down from 600,000 to 500,000, is one of the largest in the world, next to the U.S.
