Israel called on French Jews to repatriate

In Israel, mourn for those killed in a series of terrorist attacks in France. For the third day in a row, all Israeli media, without exception, have paid special attention to this event.

On Sunday, the authorities confirmed that the bodies of those killed in the attack on a kosher supermarket in Port de Vincennes, 21-year-old Yaakov Hatab, 22-year-old Joan Cohen, 45-year-old Philip Braam and 64-year-old François-Michel Saad to be transferred to Israel for burial in Jerusalem.

Earlier, an Israeli delegation consisting of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman and Minister of Economy Naftali Bennett took part in the march of unity in France.

“I marched now with world leaders in solidarity against terrorism. “I told them that it is necessary to stand to the death against any terror,” Netanyahu said after the march. “I would like to thank our and the French security forces for allowing me, despite great difficulties, to take part in this important march and represent the citizens of Israel here.”

Single branch

The attack on the editors of Charlie Hebdo magazine and the slaughter in a kosher supermarket in Port de Vincennes in Israel is called just one of the links in the chain of radical Islam.

Many Israeli commentators point to the direct link they say exists between terrorist organizations such as al-Qaeda, Boko Haram, the Islamic State, and Jabhat al-Nusra.

According to them, all these groups pursue a common goal - to intimidate civilized countries and bring panic among the civilian population.

“The terrorist attacks in Paris represent yet another attempt by Islamic extremists to intimidate the West,” Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman said on Friday. “The international community is obliged to unite in opposition to terror and give it a decisive rebuff.”

The events in Paris reminded the Israelis of an attack on a Jewish school in Toulouse in March 2012, which killed 30-year-old Rabbi Jonathan Sandler, his two sons - six-year-old Arieh and three-year-old Gabriel, as well as eight-year-old Miriam Monzonog.

Then, at the request of relatives, the victims of the attack were also buried in Jerusalem, and the Israeli government took over the expenses. Tens of thousands of Israelis came to the final journey of the dead.

Today, like three years ago, the Israeli authorities reiterated their readiness to provide assistance. It is already known that the mourning events will be held at the state level - this decision was made by the country's leadership in solidarity with the Jewish community of France.

“We deeply mourn the deaths of French journalists, police officers and civilians killed simply because they are citizens of the civilized world,” Netanyahu’s office said in a statement. “We deeply mourn our Jewish brothers who were killed simply because they were Jews.”

Stay cannot be repatriated

Celine Sharkey is one of the hostages in the supermarket who miraculously managed to survive. In an interview with Israeli journalists, he told how one of the hostages, who tried to resist the attackers, was killed before her eyes.

“It was scary, I closed my eyes and just asked the Almighty to hear my prayers,” says Celine.

On Saturday, Benjamin Netanyahu spoke with her on the phone. Celine barely restrained emotions and all the time stressed that she owed her salvation to the dead.

“I want to say to Celine and to all the Jews of France, to all the Jews in Europe: the state of Israel is not only a place in the direction of which you offer prayers, Israel is your home,” Netanyahu said after the conversation.

Thus, Netanyahu appealed to the entire Jewish community of France, numbering over 600 thousands of people.

In Jerusalem, it is believed that the rise in anti-Israeli and anti-Semitic sentiments over the past few years in the Fifth Republic has led many French Jews to think about immigration.

The call for immediate repatriation to Israel was voiced by the speaker of the Knesset, in the past, the famous Soviet dissident Julius Edelstein.

“It’s hard to say that we are surprised by anything. “Unfortunately, fundamentalism and anti-Semitism are again raising their heads in a deadly combination, which once again reminds us all that the place of Jews is only in Israel,” Edelstein wrote on his Facebook page.

By the way, the French of Jewish origin understand this without the calls of Israeli officials. Over the past 2014 year, 6800 citizens of France arrived in Israel for permanent residence. For comparison: in previous years, this figure did not exceed one and a half thousand.

At the same time, not all disgruntled prefer to go to Israel. According to French MP Meir Haviva, many see their future in other countries - in Canada, the United Kingdom, the United States, and Australia.

“Without Jews, France will be different; there will be no bankers, lawyers, economists, doctors,” Haviv said in an interview with the Knesset TV channel. “Israel must do everything possible to ensure that French Jews who do decide to leave the country go to the Jewish state.”

Increased readiness

However, not everyone in Israel believes that calling Netanyahu for French Jews right now to leave his country is the right step. In the 2002 year, after a series of anti-Semitic attacks in a similar vein, then-Premier Ariel Sharon addressed the French Jews, which caused an extremely negative reaction from official Paris. Relations between the two countries did not develop much in the future.

In the minds of the Israelis, the prevailing image of France is far from that of a friend. The reason for this is the behavior of the French Foreign Ministry in the international arena, in particular, during the Lebanese-Israeli war in the summer of 2006 and three military operations in the Gaza Strip (in 2009,2012 and 2014).

In addition to the rise of Islamic sentiment and attacks against the Jews, Paris consistently took the pro-Palestinian stance, which led many in Israel to be suspicious of the role of France in the Middle East settlement.

The situation was slightly improved in November 2013 after the visit of Francois Hollande to Israel. The French leader was met here at the highest level, which gave rise to talk about a new era of relationships.

“Paris takes great offense when Jerusalem openly calls on the Jews of France to immigrate to Israel,” says Avi Pazner, a former Israeli ambassador to France and Italy. “Such calls are considered nothing more than a manifestation of distrust in the country’s security system.”

Meanwhile, in Israel, where security issues are more than scrupulous, they prefer not to wait for decisive actions by the French authorities, and now draw their own conclusions.

For example, it is known that the Israeli authorities intend to assist in the protection of Jewish objects in France, including synagogues, schools, and kindergartens.

Security measures have also been strengthened in many Israeli diplomatic missions in various countries in view of specific warnings of terrorist threats.

Evgeny Sova

for bbcrussian.com, Israel