‘Israel Must Prepare for Immigration of 200,000 French Jews,’ Declares Israeli Minister

The Israeli media reported that the government is set to establish a special body for the absorption of French immigrants whose numbers have increased amid a wave of anti-Semitism in Europe.

By: United with Israel Staff

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu directed Diaspora Affairs Minister Naftali Bennett to create a plan to boost immigration of Jews from France, Times of Israel reported Sunday.

While the number of Jews immigrating from France has risen precipitously over the past decade, Bennett believes there are hundreds of thousands more that seek to immigrate, or “make Aliyah,” which is how the Jewish people refer to the process of repatriating the Holy Land.

“There has been a historic missed opportunity on the part of Israeli governments over the past few years, and it is the subject of immigration from France,” said Bennett in a statement, the Times reported.

France, like many of its European neighbors, has witnessed a major spike in anti-Semitic crimes and harassment over the past several years. Jews not only face a threat from traditional sources, such as neo-Nazi hate groups, but also increasingly are singled out for vilification by left-wing groups who frame their anti-Semitic rhetoric as “anti-Israel criticism” or “pro-Palestinian activism.”

The influx of Arab and Muslim migrants to the continent has also brought with it classic Islamic anti-Semitism, which is prevalent throughout the Arab world and traffics in canards such as blood libels and other anti-Semitic tropes.

“There are 200,000 Jews in France who want to immigrate here, and all the state systems are simply not prepared for this,” warned Bennett.

With the immigration of French Jews on the rise, Bennett believes more needs to be done to increase and support this immigrant community in Israel.