Sharon: French Jews must move to Israel immediately

[Semsem]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/3904943.stm


French Jews 'must move to Israel'


France has seen a spate of attacks against Jewish targets
Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon has urged all French Jews to move to Israel immediately to escape anti-Semitism.
He told a meeting of the American Jewish Association in Jerusalem that Jews around the world should relocate to Israel as early as possible.

But for those living in France, he added, moving was a "must" because of rising violence against Jews there.

France's foreign ministry said it had asked Israel for an explanation of the "unacceptable comments".

French Jewish leaders, interviewed on France-2 Television, said Mr Sharon's remarks were unhelpful.

"These comments do not bring calm, peace and serenity that we all need," said Patrick Gaubert, of the International League Against Racism and Anti-Semitism (Licra). "I think Mr Sharon would have done better tonight to have kept quiet."

"It's not up to him to decide for us," said Theo Klein, honorary president of Crif, which represents French Jewish organisations.

Trend

France has suffered a wave of anti-Semitic attacks coinciding with renewed fighting in the Middle East.


About France, on one hand we see the spread of the wildest anti-Semitism there

Ariel Sharon

"We see the spread of the wildest anti-Semitism" in France, Mr Sharon said.

The latest French government figures show 510 anti-Jewish acts or threats in the first six months of 2004 - compared to 593 for all of last year.

In recent years there have been bomb attacks against a number of synagogues and Jewish schools in France.

Jewish tombs have also been desecrated.

Mr Sharon acknowledged that the Paris government had made efforts to tackle the problem.

He added that France faced a new kind of anti-Semitism based on anti-Israeli feelings and propaganda.

He pointed out that France had a large Muslim community estimated at less than 10% of population, or about five million.

Hoax

Mr Sharon said his advice to French Jews was that moving to Israel was "a must and they have to move immediately".

The BBC's Hugh Schofield in Paris says this is not the first time that Mr Sharon has spoken about the need for French Jews to leave for Israel, but rarely has he been so blunt.

"We have immediately made contact with Israeli authorities to ask them for explanations about these unacceptable statements," said French foreign ministry spokesman Herve Ladsous.

Our correspondent says there is irritation in France at the idea that life for Jews there is becoming dangerous - especially as the government has made every effort to show that anti-Jewish acts will be severely punished.

A week ago President Jacques Chirac rushed to condemn an apparently anti-Semitic attack on a Paris train that turned out to be a hoax.

Our correspondent adds that his haste only aggravated passions among many in the Muslim community who feel they are the instant scapegoats.

[KSO]

Give us the rich the middle classed and the secure, and those who are in real danger? We'll call you when we'll need some cannonfodder...

[Mediocrates]

does that mean anything?

[KSO]

does that mean anything?

It is very ironic how the Sharon goverment is using basic human fears to get some rich\middle class European Jews to Israel in order to fill up the emptying budget, while there are Jews all over the world who are in actual danger and very little is done to bring them.

[Olivier]

just in case ... but I don't think the french-haters here care.

For a change, you could care for the opinions of some representative french jews, Richard Prasquier, administrator of the CRIF (conseil représentatif des institutions juives de France), Haïm Korsia, who works for the Grand Rabbin de France, or indeed, Sitruk, the Great Rabbi of himself.

Or you could notice that the number of french jews emigrating to israel is 10%lower than last year (2 313 in 2003 vs. 2 566 in 2002).



No you don't, since it just doesn't fit you anti-france campaign.

[Olivier]

one more thing : the jewish agency recently opened subsidies in several french cities to "evacuate" french jews. They will be offered money to relocate (sharon's call was part of a speech to raise money at the Federation of United Jewish Communities).


The Goal set for of this major campaign, financed by israeli and US organizations is to evacuate 6% of the french community (30 000 to 33 000).



It's just the start of the campaign : The Jewish Agency has chartered a plane next week that will fly 200 french Jews to israel.



Knowing the power of the lobbies behind this, expect a lot of media coverage (and plenty of hate posts on this forum, as usual).

[Mediocrates]

No we expect Jews to leave and we expect you to deny it up to the point you criticize it. We wish you well. If you are a young man or woman I sincerely hope you live long enough to experience a France completely bereft of Jews. Oh, you'll grumble and complain and mutter at your muslim housemaid but it won't really matter.

[Mediocrates]

The Jewish community in Argentina felt the same way the French Jewish community feels - that they would never leave. Of course Argentine olim are the largest group in the world now. All it takes is an economic calamity and the Jews are cut from the society and left on their own. I expect that AIDS will create a similar economic scenario in South Africa soon and those Jews will be looking to leave to Israel or the US. France won't be the first EU state to experience a large organized exodus of Jews. I put my money on Belgium or Greece.

[Semsem]

It is very ironic how the Sharon goverment is using basic human fears to get some rich\middle class European Jews to Israel in order to fill up the emptying budget, while there are Jews all over the world who are in actual danger and very little is done to bring them.

Where are the Jews in grave danger? I am not aware.

[Semsem]

The Jewish community in Argentina felt the same way the French Jewish community feels - that they would never leave. Of course Argentine olim are the largest group in the world now. All it takes is an economic calamity and the Jews are cut from the society and left on their own. I expect that AIDS will create a similar economic scenario in South Africa soon and those Jews will be looking to leave to Israel or the US. France won't be the first EU state to experience a large organized exodus of Jews. I put my money on Belgium or Greece.

Yes but there are only 5,000 Jews in Greece. And Belgium not sure? 30,000?

[Semsem]

The Jews will leave France. It's part of biblical prophesy and I believe in the biblical prophesies that all Jews will one day return to Israel.

However I think Sharon is no fool. He knows they will not all leave tomorrow. But I am sure within the next 50 years they will all be gone. Remember when Herzl in 1904 said in 50 years we will have a Jewish State?

[Mediocrates]

Yes but there are only 5,000 Jews in Greece. And Belgium not sure? 30,000?

Something like that. It's certainly easier to pogrom 5 or 30 thousand than it is 750 thousand. These things start small. In Argentina about 20,000 Jews made aliyah from 1999-2003 and the total population was only 230,000.

[NewsGuy]

The Goal set for of this major campaign, financed by israeli and US organizations is to evacuate 6% of the french community (30 000 to 33 000).



It's just the start of the campaign : The Jewish Agency has chartered a plane next week that will fly 200 french Jews to israel.

Why does this worry you, Olivier?

[L@mplighterM]

Biblical prophecies or no it would be nice to have a crystal ball to see how this will evolve. I don’t know how many Jews will accept Sharon’s offer, I imagine that its going to be difficult to get people to up and leave their financial security.

If 200,000 citizens placed their homes for sale at the same time the real estate market would collapse and the dramatic decrease in the tax base would collapse the French economy.

I doubt that Israel could immediately absorb an additional 700,000 citizens inflation would skyrocket. France will become an Islamic state along with the rest of Europe it simply can’t be stopped.

Strange how history appears to be repeating itself!

[Gilgamesh]

It is very ironic how the Sharon goverment is using basic human fears to get some rich\middle class European Jews to Israel in order to fill up the emptying budget, while there are Jews all over the world who are in actual danger and very little is done to bring them.

Over the years Israel has absorbed MILLIONS of Jewish fefugees, whose entire earthly possetions were their shirts on thier backs. Not even one pair of pants. My one grandparents are such example. Hollocaust survivors, refugees from all over Soviet eastern Europe, refugees from Arab states the list is endless. And your "follow the money trail to explain politics" stick, simply doesn't work.

Thinking about the one million Jewish-Russian blessed immigration to Israel empties your argument KSO, is bankrupt from all meaning.

I see no shame in having money. And no shame in attracting relativly rich French Jews with thies businesses and industrial machines, and scientific knowladge and artistic experiance and logos. It is a great gain to absorb Jews of France.

for 2 millenias, Jews contributed to the wealth and culture of Europe. Isn't it a high time for Jews to contribute for thier own national gain, for a change?

Now that the Jews are getting out of France, to Israel, to Quiback and the USA, in Sorbon, you may study only Islam. one in four students and one in three proffesors in the Sorbon, are Jewish.