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Number of French Jews Emigrating to Israel Rises Sharply
Number of French Jews Emigrating to Israel Rises
(about 4 hours later)
PARIS — For Tiffany Taieb Nizard, the decision to abandon France for Israel came this month when a French-born man was accused of gunning down four people at the Jewish Museum in Brussels in an anti-Semitic attack.
PARIS — For Tiffany Taieb Nizard, the decision to abandon France for Israel came this month when a French-born man was accused of gunning down four people at the Jewish Museum in Brussels in an anti-Semitic attack.
It was just the tipping point. Earlier, Ms. Taieb Nizard, a 32-year-old mother of two, says she was punched on the bustling Champs-Élysées by a gang of Muslim girls who called her “dirty Jew.” Last year, a man in her upscale neighborhood on the edge of Paris complained to the police about her sister’s Sukkah, a ritual hut erected for a Jewish holiday, she said. She insists that her orthodox husband wear a baseball cap over his skullcap to avoid being harassed. A graduate in management, she said, she was also struggling to find a job.
It was just the tipping point. Earlier, Ms. Taieb Nizard, 32, a mother of two, says she was punched on the Champs-Élysées by a gang of Muslim girls who called her “dirty Jew.” Last year, she said, a man in her neighborhood on the edge of Paris complained to the police about her sister’s Sukkah, a hut erected to celebrate the Jewish holiday of Sukkot. She insists that her Orthodox husband wear a baseball cap over his skullcap to avoid harassment. A graduate in management, she was also struggling to find a job.
“I love France, and this is my country, but I am disgusted now,” she says. “In Israel there is an army that will protect us. Here, I can no longer see a future for my children.”
“I love France, and this is my country, but I am disgusted now,” she said. “In Israel there is an army that will protect us. Here, I can no longer see a future for my children.”
While hers was a personal decision, other Jews in France are doing the same. And while the number is relatively small — 1,407 of France’s roughly 500,000 Jews left in the first three months of the year — it is four times higher than for the same period last year, according to the Jewish Agency for Israel, which coordinates the migration of Jews to Israel.
While she had her reasons, other Jews in France are doing the same. And while the number is relatively small — 1,407 of France’s roughly 500,000 Jews left in the first three months of the year — it is four times higher than for the same period last year, according to the Jewish Agency for Israel, which coordinates migration to Israel.
Jewish leaders say the decision is being driven by a complex combination of factors, including the cultural pull of Israel and France’s flat economy, especially for the younger generation drawn by the possibility of other opportunities in a more vibrant Israeli economy.
Jewish leaders say the emigration is being driven by a combination of factors, including the cultural pull of Israel and France’s flat economy, especially for the younger generation drawn by the possibility of other opportunities in the more vibrant Israeli economy.
But the main catalyst, they say, is a growing awareness of a seemingly greater acceptance of anti-Semitism, here and in other parts of Europe, where the success of far-right parties in elections for the European Parliament in May, including by the National Front in France and a neo-Nazi party in Greece and an anti-Semitic-infused nationalist party in Hungary, has created a less friendly, and sometimes, even hostile environment for Jews and other minorities.
Yet the main catalyst, they say, is a growing awareness of a seemingly greater acceptance of anti-Semitism here and in other parts of Europe. The success of far-right parties in elections for the European Parliament in May — the National Front in France, a neo-Nazi party in Greece and a nationalist party in Hungary known for anti-Semitic and anti-Roma outbursts — has created a less friendly and sometimes even hostile environment for Jews and other minorities.
Serge Cwajgenbaum, a Frenchman who is secretary general of the Brussels-based European Jewish Congress, stressed that a majority of France’s Jews were remaining in France and constituted a thriving and well-integrated community. He said relations between Jews and the country’s roughly six million Muslims were by in large peaceful.
Serge Cwajgenbaum, a Frenchman who is secretary general of the European Jewish Congress in Brussels, emphasized that a majority of France’s Jews were remaining in France and constituted a well-integrated community. He said relations between Jews and the country’s roughly six million Muslims were by and large peaceful.
He also emphasized, however, that the shifting political winds were heightening the anxieties of European Jewery. “French anxiety represents the general anxiety of Jews in Europe, who fear for their safety and future,” he said. “If the situation continues there will be an accelerated movement out of Europe.”
However, he added, shifting political winds were heightening the anxieties of European Jewry. “French anxiety represents the general anxiety of Jews in Europe, who fear for their safety and future,” he said. “If the situation continues, there will be an accelerated movement out of Europe.”
Last year, 3,288 French Jews emigrated to Israel — a 72 percent increase over 2012. For the first time since 1948, the year the state of Israel was founded, French émigrés surpassed the number of American Jews emigrating to Israel. This year, the Jewish Agency for Israel says it expects some 5,000 to make aliyah, the Hebrew word for immigration to Israel that translates literally as “to ascend.” The agency said that while globally emigration to Israel was stagnating, French Jews were the notable exception.
Last year, 3,288 French Jews emigrated to Israel — a 72 percent increase over 2012. For the first time since 1948, the year Israel was founded, French émigrés surpassed the number of American émigrés. This year, the Jewish Agency says it expects some 5,000 to make aliyah, the Hebrew word for immigration that means “to ascend.” The agency said that while immigration to Israel was stagnating globally, French Jews were the notable exception.
In a November 2013 survey of Jews in eight European Union countries by the organization’s anti-racism agency, nearly a third said they had considered emigrating over the last five years because they did not feel safe as Jews. The study showed that France, Hungary and Belgium are perceived as having the most worrying levels of anti-Semitism. Nearly a quarter of those surveyed said they stayed away from Jewish events or locations for fear for their safety.
In a November survey of Jews in eight European Union countries by the union’s anti-racism agency, nearly a third said they had considered emigrating over the previous five years because they did not feel safe. The study showed that France, Hungary and Belgium were perceived as having the most worrying levels of anti-Semitism. In France, Jews are the victims of 40 percent of hate crimes, according to the Jewish Community Protection Service, which tracks anti-Semitic acts.
In France, for instance, Jews are the victims of 40 percent of hate crimes, according to the Jewish Community Protection Service, which tracks anti-Semitic incidents.
Jewish community leaders here say apprehension escalated after a series of high-profile attacks against Jews, most recently in May when two brothers were beaten by men with brass knuckles as they left a synagogue in Créteil near Paris.
Jewish community leaders here say apprehension has escalated following a series of high-profile anti-Semitic attacks against Jews, most recently in May when two young brothers were beaten by two men with brass knuckles as they left a synagogue in Créteil near Paris.
In January, courts banned a series of shows by Dieudonné M’bala M’bala, a comedian of French and West African heritage, after state television broadcast a video in which he said he regretted that a leading Jewish journalist had not been killed in the gas chambers. He also is credited with popularizing an inverted Nazi salute.
In January, courts banned a series of shows by Dieudonné M’bala M’bala, a comedian of French and West African heritage, after state television had broadcast a video in which he said he regretted that a leading Jewish journalist had not been killed in the gas chambers. He also is credited with popularizing an inverted Nazi salute embraced by his many supporters.
The Jewish community is still haunted by a 2012 killing rampage during which Mohammed Merah, a Frenchman with Algerian roots, fatally shot seven people, including three children and a rabbi, outside a school in Toulouse.
The Jewish community is still haunted by a 2012 killing rampage during which Mohammed Merah, a young Frenchman with Algerian roots shot and killed seven people, including three children and a rabbi, outside a school in Toulouse.
The Mediterranean city of Netanya in Israel has attracted so many French, including retirees, that Israelis call it the French Riviera. On a recent evening, about 70 French Jews attended an information session at the Jewish Agency’s heavily guarded offices in Paris. An agency official, Eliaou Zenou, a Frenchman who had made aliyah, laid out the advantages — and challenges — of moving to Israel.
Ariel Kandel, the French-born director of the Jewish Agency’s French office, said that high-youth unemployment in France and an emotional connection to Israel were also spurring emigration. But he said growing social acceptance of anti-Semitism was a powerful spur. “You have Marine Le Pen on the right and then you have Islamic radicalism and Jews are caught in the middle,” he said.
The would-be emigrants would have to bid adieu to France’s 35-hour workweek and five-week vacations, learn Hebrew, forsake foie gras, find a job, work on Sundays and, depending on their age, serve in the army.
The Mediterranean city of Netanya in Israel has attracted so many French, including retirees drawn by sunny weather, that Israelis have called it the French Riviera. French-speaking real estate agents, notaries and lawyers in Israel catering for the new arrivals say they can barely keep up with demand.
In return, he said, they would gain cultural harmony by living in the land of their ancestors and benefit from a dynamic economy. And despite Israel’s reputation as a land of perpetual war and conflict, he added, Israelis lived an average 81.8 years compared with 81.5 years in France. “You gain three months,” he said.
On a recent evening, about 70 French Jews considering departing for Israel packed an information session at the Jewish Agency’s heavily guarded offices in Paris. An Agency official overseeing emigration, Eliaou Zenou, a Frenchman who had made aliyah, laid out the relative advantages — and challenges — of moving to Israel.
“No one is saying you will become a C.E.O. overnight. But if you learn Hebrew and are willing to work, there are opportunities,” he said.
The would-be emigrants, he noted, would have to bid adieu to France’s 35-hour workweek, learn Hebrew, forsake foie gras in favor of hummus, find a job, work on Sundays, give up five-week holidays and, depending on their age, serve in the army.
For the younger generation, economics as much as anti-Semitism was prompting decisions to depart.
In return, he stressed, they would gain cultural empowerment from living in the land of their ancestors and benefit from a dynamic start-up economy. And despite Israel’s reputation as a land of perpetual war and conflict, he added, Israelis lived an average 81.8 years compared with 81.5 years in France. “You gain three months,” he said.
Elie Jaskarzec, 26, a biotechnology engineer who attended the information session, plans to emigrate in October and eventually hopes to start his own company. He said he was particularly put off by the cost of doing business in France. “This is a country in decline,” he added.
“No one is saying you will become a C.E.O. overnight. But if you learn Hebrew and are willing to work, there are opportunities,” he said. “What you are about to do takes courage,” he added.
For Ms. Taieb Nizard, whose parents fled Tunisia for France in the 1960s because of anti-Semitism, memories of oppression run deep. For her, she said, she felt that history was now repeating itself.
For the younger generation, economics as much as anti-Semitism, is driving their departure.
“I will miss many things in France,” she said on a recent day, munching on a pastry. “But I think my soul will feel better there.”
Elie Jaskarzec, 26, a biotechnology engineer who attended the session, plans to emigrate to Israel in October and eventually hopes to start his own company. He said he was particularly put off by the cost of doing business in France. “This is a country in decline,” he said. “In Israel I can work on a beach with Wi-Fi, which you don’t have in Paris.”
For Ms. Taieb Nizard, whose parents fled Tunisia for France in the 1960s because of anti-Semitism, memories of oppression run deep. For her, she said, she felt that history was now repeating itself as she leaves France for Israel in search of a better life.
“I will miss many things in France,” she said on a recent day, munching on a French pastry. “But I think my soul will feel better there.”
