According to a survey published today by the American Joint Distribution Committee and reported on the Haaretz website, a majority of Jews throughout Europe are still in a daydream of denial. Despite concerns about rising antisemitism, European Jews are not any more inclined today than they were before October 7 to pack up and move elsewhere.
Just under a quarter of the nearly 900 Jewish leaders and professionals questioned in the survey, conducted between March and April this year, said they had considered emigrating because they no longer feel safe living as a Jew in their country – unchanged from a previous survey in 2021 in which the same question was asked.
Recently an important Rabbi in Paris proclaimed that there was no longer a future for Jews in France and called them to flee to a safer abode. However, he retracted his words a week later after French Jewish leaders vehemently protested his statement.
Jews have short memories. Perhaps this is the reason that we are always called upon to remember. Remember the Sabbath. Remember the Exodus from Egypt. Remember how you stood at Sinai. Remember what Amalek did to you. We even have an annual Day of Remembrance lest we forget who we are. Maybe our proclivity toward forgetfulness is the reason that the Jews of France are awakening so slowly to the turn of events which has left them a hated minority once again in the land of liberty, fraternity, and equality. Apparently, they have forgotten the long list of pogroms that transpired throughout the countries of Europe. Apparently, the Jews of France have forgotten about Dreyfus as well. Also erased from their collective memory is the photograph of Hitler posing in front of the Eifel Tower and how the French collaborated with the Nazis in rounding up Jews.
Of course, not all the Jews in France are blind to today’s reality. “How can it be?” many Jews are wondering today. What have we done to be so hated? Apparently, they have forgotten the old claim that we killed the Christian savior. They have forgotten that up until the French Revolution all of France’s citizens were Catholic. For centuries the myth that the Jews killed Jesus was fed to French children like mother’s milk. Hatred of the Jews became a part of their genetic structure. Even today when the majority of French men and women are secular – every French fetus carries a “The Jews killed Jesus” chromosome, just like most of the gentiles throughout the Western world and in all countries where the Church once reigned.
What does this mean for Aliyah? At an emergency Aliyah conference six months ago, Jonathan Pollard reported that several congregations in France had turned to him for help saying that just as he was abandoned during his long years in United States Federal prisons, they feel abandoned in their efforts to make Aliyah. After visiting the communities and hearing their claims that the Jewish Agency was not responding to their repeated cries for help, Pollard said that he wondered whether Israel really wanted to bring a large wave of new olim from the West. Since then, several thousand Jews attended an Aliyah conference in Paris organized by the Ministry of Aliyah and Klita. But this is a small fraction of the 450,000 Jews still living in France. To clarify the situation, at a subsequent Aliyah conference this month we asked attorney Nili Naouri of the “Lech Lecha” project, for her view of the situation:
“The current situation of French Jews is very worrisome,” she told the audience of grassroots Aliyah activists. “Anti-Semitism in France is not a new phenomenon, but in recent years it has increased alarmingly. Islam conquered France, which has a tradition of submission. Since October 7, anti-Semitism in France has reached new heights. We saw demonstrations with chants of “Death to the Jews” and PLO flags flying in the streets, physical attacks, anti-Semitic graffiti on buildings where Jews live, etc… Anti-Semitism today is not only in the street but also at government levels. The decisions of the French government, such as the calls for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza and condemnations of Israel in international institutions, along with the boycott of Israeli industries and the waving of the PLO flag inside the French Parliament indicate the side which France has chosen – similar to World War II, France has chosen the wrong side of history.
“We created the ‘Lech Lecha’ program to address the difficulties of absorption facing French immigrants. It is not easy to leave everything and start all over again. The Jewish Agency deals with the technical paperwork of the Aliyah process but little more than that when it comes to helping a new immigrant through his or her challenging adventure. Our independent program offers full support for all stages of immigration and absorption, with an emphasis on housing, employment, Hebrew learning, and education advisement, giving immigrants all the tools needed to succeed in their absorption in Israel. Additionally, we are vigorously working with the members of the Knesset and the Israeli Government to demand an emergency plan for the immigration of French Jews. We proposed a comprehensive plan for encouraging immigration and improving the conditions of absorption. There has already been a drastic increase in the number of cases opened at the Jewish Agency in France since October 7th and even more so since the results of the parliamentary elections. But I do not rule out serious events that will cause a massive immigration increase in the very near future. We must be ready by initiating a massive housing project and, in the meantime, the establishment of caravan absorption centers. Concurrently, we must speed up the legislative process for the recognition of diplomas, increase the number of Hebrew ulpans, open more classrooms in schools, etc… The emigration of Jews from the Diaspora is an integral part of the war we are fighting today. This is an issue that should be included in the war budget. We must act quickly and call out to all the Jews of France – ‘Don’t delay. The situation throughout Europe is rapidly deteriorating. You have an historic opportunity to immigrate to Israel and to be a part of the generation returning to Zion after 2000 years of exile. This is a huge merit! Don’t miss this historic moment. Stop being victims of history in exile. Let’s write history in Israel together with all the people of Israel! Aliyah now!’”
