Israel’s government cabinet decided Sunday to clear obstacles to the absorption of new immigrants in the labor market, in particular, those from France.
Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and Aliyah and Absorption Minister Sofa Landver today described the decision to members of the French Jewish community in Israel.
“We want to see masses of Jews coming here,” Netanyahu said. “I appeal especially to the Jews of France; this is a community that I know, love and appreciate. We see you today not only as brothers and sisters but as our very flesh.”
That being the case, he pointed out, one would wonder why the government makes it so difficult for Jewish professionals to start over in Israel.
“Why don’t we allow Jewish professionals — and they have a splendid community in France, the talents and charms of which I have learned to recognize, who can make a tangible contribution to Israeli society, to the Israeli economy, and to Israeli security — to do so?” Netanyahu asked rhetorically.
“As a first step, we decided today that by January 1 we will demand that all Government ministries simplify, cut and shorten procedures” so as to allow French Jews to gain approval for a range of credentials already earned in fields, professions, degrees and diplomas, the prime minister said.
“I think that this is essential; it is essential to other communities too, we are doing this as well. This should have been done decades ago but we are doing it now.
“I think this is very important and I reiterate and say one thing: This is your home, this is your state. This is a personal decision but I want you to know that we await you with open arms and we want to roll out the red carpet so that you can come and join in building up our country and in ensuring the future of our people here in our land.”
A business attorney who helps investors move their portfolios told The Observer in September that anti-Semitism in France is responsible for rising migration of wealthy Jewish families.
“France is a weird country because it has a large Jewish and large Muslim population, so there is a real tension, a real undercurrent of hostility and a threat. Now, it has become a lot easier for people to become a lot more open about their anti-Semitism and hate,” Marlen Kruzhkov said. “Even a year ago, they were shocked.”
The United States is a terrific place to do business, Kruzhkov said, with less tape than Israel, and provides great opportunity for investment. But the bottom line is, “the driving force is the anti-Semitism,” he emphasized, adding that an estimated $1.44 billion has moved from France to New York due to the rising hatred against Jews so far this year alone.
Now add to this the “jihad” factor — the issue of Islamic “holy war.”
At present there are between 3.5 to five million Muslims in France, representing between five to ten percent of the population, according to the Euro-Islam website. Islam is currently the second most widely-practiced religion in France, after Roman Catholicism.
Intelligence and law enforcement personnel in France are becoming increasingly concerned about Islamic radicalization as hundreds fall prey to the seductive call of murderous jihadists via the mosques.
For example, Islamic convert Maxime Hauchard, 22, grew up in Normandy a mild-mannered young man who liked movies and motorbikes. But last week he suddenly appeared as a cold-blooded killer with the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) terrorist organization, wielding a Kalashnikov with two other men. The second in the trio seen in a video online burning their French passports was 26-year-old Abou Ossama al-Faranci, according to a report published in La Depeche du Midi.