By Marney Blom
The Israeli Mediterranean seaside town of Netanya is not exactly the French Riviera, but it is a highly popular destination for new French immigrants to Israel. With its pristine beaches and crystal blue waters, the ever expanding stretch of waterfront high-rises is a clear indication of its rapid growth and booming development. It is also evidence that French Jewry is moving to Israel in increasing numbers.
“I moved my family from France to Israel because of something that happened in France,” remembered Reb Mordechai Linhart, president of Lekh Lekha Europe, a charity that assists lower income European Jewry move to Israel. “When I came back from the Synagogue after the afternoon prayers, there was someone shouting, ‘Allah akbar! I am going to kill you and your wife and your children,’ while doing the cutting-your-throat sign. That’s when I realized I needed to move on and go to Israel, and take my children and family to a place where we can feel safe.”
According to the Jewish Community Security Service report, anti-Semitism in France doubled in 2014 with violent Anti-Semitic acts increasing by 130 percent. Although the Jewish community represents less than one percent of France’s citizens, they have become the target of half of all the racist acts committed in France. As a result, French immigration to Israel is growing exponentially.
Over the past decade, aliyah, or Jewish immigration from France to Israel has been roughly stable at approximately 2,000 people per year. With 1,900 new immigrants in 2012, the total was consistent with the yearly norm. However, suddenly a noticeable shift occurred. In 2013 aliyah from France began an exponential growth curve by more than doubling to 3,400. In 2014 it jumped to 7,300.
“This is a very significant increase,” said Avi Mayer, spokesperson for The Jewish Agency For Israel. “And we expect that increase to continue in the foreseeable future.”
If the current growth of French aliyah continues, the yearly total of French immigration to Israel could peak at 15,000 in 2015.
“What we’re hearing from French Jews coming to Israel is that they are motivated by a very strong feeling of insecurity … in France today,” continued Mayer. “There is an increasing sense … that you can’t be openly identifiable as Jewish in France. This is very distressing for them, particularly those who come from more traditional families and want to be able to identify openly with their people and their faith.”
Members of both the secular and the religious Jewish communities in France are targets of anti-Semitism. More identifiably Jewish individuals, such as members of the ultra-orthodox community, tend to be harassed more.
“Europe … I wonder why Jewry still feels comfortable living there,” contends Reb Linhart. “Walking in the street feels uncomfortable. I get spat at on some occasions. I get shouted at, also in the UK. It doesn’t feel very safe.”
Large families and small incomes often render a return to their ancient homeland a daunting financial challenge for the ultra-orthodox. Some, like Reb Linhart, president of Lekh Lekha Europe – a Jewish charity that assists low-income families who desire to move to Israel – are finding much needed financial help from a seemingly unlikely source – evangelical Christians. According to Debbie Kellogg, Co-Founder of the Cyrus Foundation, helping the Jewish community return to Israel is not an option. It is a mandate for Christians.
“Many times when we help a family … they ask us, ‘Why as Christians do you want to help us?’ They start weeping on the phone,” said Kellogg, whose Colorado-based foundation has helped thousands immigrate to Israel. “’In the past you’ve hated us and called us Christ-killers, but now you want to help us go home.’ So it really is a healing time for both of us.”
Kellogg gets her inspiration from scripture. “In a sense [we are] fulfilling Isaiah 49 that says we need to carry [the Jewish people] on our shoulders and in our arms, back to the land of Israel, in a caring and loving way. [We need to] show them the love of God that we have for them, and that He, of course, has for them. Christians definitely have an opportunity in this time in history to really affect Israel and the Jewish people.”
And that opportunity is only expected to escalate in the days ahead.
“I spoke to a survivor of the Shoah who used to live in Poland. He said that when he sees the news and all that is happening, it really reminds him of the pre-holocaust period,” said Reb Linhart. “When it comes from the mouth of a survivor of Auschwitz, there’s nothing more to be said.”
Marney Blom is news director for the Acts News Network.
Copyright 2015 © Acts News Network, Inc.