French Jewish emigration to Israel on the decline

The number of French Jewish people emigrating to Israel has fallen by 15 per cent, despite Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s offers for them to make the move.

The Middle East Monitor reports that between January and April this year, some 1,398 French Jews moved to Israel, compared to 1,647 during the same period last year, representing a fall of 15 per cent.

However, the Jewish Agency’s French office chief Ariel Kandel claimed the fall in numbers was just temporarily, saying the figure would rise again during the summer months, with the number of French Jews moving to Israel expected to increase by between 10 and 20 per cent over the course of the year.

Kandel said that around 8,000 more French Jews would make the move between the countries than last year, which itself saw the highest number of people emigrating since 1948, with 6,000 making the move south.

The main reason for Jews opting to leave the European country is the Charlie Hebdo terror attack and the ensuing shootings at a Jewish deli.

In response to the calls for Jews to leave the country, French Prime Minister Manuel Valls, whose wife is a Jew, said that the country would no longer be France if 100,000 Jews left, adding that it would be judged a failure.