By Aryeh Savir
JERUSALEM (TNA) – Chairman of the The Jewish Agency Natan Sharansky announced on Monday, June 23, that global Aliyah (immigration to Israel from around the world) is up 55%, due largely to dramatic increases in immigration from France and Ukraine. Speaking at the opening plenary of the Jewish Agency Board of Governors’ June meetings in Jerusalem, Sharansky announced that The Jewish Agency estimates French Aliyah will surpass 5,000 individuals by the end of 2014, an all-time record and a full 1% of the 500,000 person French Jewish community. Never before has such a large proportion of a Western Jewish community made Aliyah in a single year.
Chairman Sharansky said: “Never in the history of the State of Israel has there been a Jewish community in the free world that has sent such a large proportion of its Jews to Israel. We cannot take responsibility for the fact that so many Jews and so many French young people in general are leaving France, but the fact that Israel has become the number one destination for young French Jews is a testament to our success in connecting them to the Jewish state.”
Sharansky noted that The Jewish Agency’s Israel experience programs, including Masa Israel Journey and teen program Bac Bleu Blanc, have seen record growth amongst young French Jews over the past two years, and stated that it is The Jewish Agency’s responsibility not only to facilitate French Jewish immigration but also to strengthen Jewish life in France.
According to Jewish Agency data, a total of 7,912 individuals have made Aliyah since the beginning of the year, compared to 5,092 during the comparable period in 2013 , representing a 55% increase. This number does not include Aliyah from Ethiopia, the pace of which is determined by the Government of Israel. 713 Ethiopian Jews made Aliyah during this period in 2013, a number that dropped to 143 this year due to the conclusion of Operation ‘Dove’s Wings’.
2,254 French Jews made Aliyah during the first five months of 2014, compared to 580 during the equivalent period last year, a dramatic 289% increase. The first five months of the year also saw a dramatic increase in Aliyah from Ukraine, with 1,587 Ukrainian Jews immigrating to Israel, compared to 684 during the same period in 2013, a 132% increase.
France has been experiencing a violent wave of anti-Semitism in recent years. The highest volume of anti-Semitic attacks in Europe during 2013 occurred in France. French Jews have expressed an intensified feeling that personal safety and communal well-being have been jeopardized over 2013. A poll found that 73% of French Jews blamed radical Muslims for the surge in violence. Ukraine has been experiencing turmoil and civil war, which has brought to a fear in the rise of anti-Semitism and a Jewish exodus from Ukraine.
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Aryeh Savir is a staff writer for the Tazpit News Agency in Israel. He may be contacted via en@tazpit.org.il
Here we go again!! Jews as scapegoats, also like Blacks who are blamed for being born. When will we here in the US get it together and get rid of the Donald Sterlings and come up with a plan to make life better for all people. After all, America is the only true “Promise land”, but we do have some problems here that are unique and ugly, but solvable ones Poor Blacks and Jews, both face a lot of the same problems. Together, they can solve and make those problems disappear for themselves and their children. Israel and Africa face many of the same problems. Let’s face it, people are people. I and many other people are very concerned about what is going on and the fact that Gay people are being targets in this new anti-Semitism on top of being Gay. A hard life to deal with. We hope to be able to provide and aid people who want to live and prosper in life. We can’t wait for things to happen, we have to make arrangements now for what we know is coming. It’s a cancer in the world and we need to make sure that there is an escape plan for those in need!!!
Diversity is kind and decent. Hatred is Satanic !!! JF