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03:47 PM
European Jewish group slams Netanyahu's call for French Jews to immigrate to Israel
The head of the largest advocate for the Jewish organizations and
communities in Europe sharply criticized Israel's call for increased
immigration of the Continent's Jews to Israel in the wake of the attacks
in Paris.
Rabbi Menachem Margolin, director of the European Jewish Association,
was quoted by the website nrg.co.il as saying that he regretted that
"after every anti-Semitic attack in Europe, the Israeli government
issues the same statements about the importance of aliyah [immigration
to Israel], rather than employ every diplomatic and informational means
at its disposal to strengthen the safety of Jewish life in Europe."
NRG reported that Margolin said that Jews who have an attachment to
Israel do not need this call, and they continue to emigrate to Israel in
the wake of the events [like those] over the weekend in Paris. ..."
The rabbi said that "every such Israeli campaign severely weakens and
damages the Jewish communities that have the right to live securely
wherever they are."
The "reality is that a large majority of European Jews do not plan to emigrate to Israel," Margolin said, according to NRG.
"The Israeli government must recognize this reality and also remember
the strategic importance of the Jewish communities as supporters of
Israel in the countries in which they live."
Israel's government "must cease this Pavlovian reaction every time Jews in Europe are attacked," he said.
Margolin said that the EJA had "asked the interior ministers of
European Union nations to approve weapons-carry permits and self-defense
training for the heads of Jewish communities ... as well as for owners
of businesses with substantial Jewish customer bases," NRG reported.
The EJA, based in Paris, says on its website that because of a "lack of
resources, the relationships between Israel, European countries and the
European Jewish Diaspora [don't] seem to be a top priority for the
State of Israel."
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