In the French newspaper Le Parisien this morning (Thursday) they describe an alarming trend: an unimaginable jump in the number of anti-Semitic incidents in the country since October 7.
According to the data of the umbrella organization of the Jewish organizations in France (CRIEF), which relies on the data of the French Ministry of the Interior that are cited in the article - this is no less than a 1,000% jump in the number of incidents in the country since the massacre here in Otef, that is, the number of incidents in three months is equivalent to those that occurred in France during the three years the last ones
Tens of thousands march against anti-Semitism in Paris (12.11.23) // Reuters
In 2022, 436 anti-Semitic cases were registered in France, while since the month of October no less than 1,242 anti-Semitic incidents have been registered in the country.
Attacks on French Jews According to the data of the Ministry of the Interior in the country - more than half of the incidents (57.8%) included physical attacks on people, physical violence and threatening comments.
A third of the incidents occurred at home or at work, compared to 20% on public roads.
The human rights researcher in France, Nona Mayer, says in an interview to the newspaper that "French Jews are becoming a scapegoat following what is happening in the Middle East. Through the prism of social networks and the media, there are imitative effects, it gives people ideas."
According to her, the attackers are mainly young men who feel identification with what is happening in Gaza due to their religion or origin.
Among other things, the article mentions a verbal attack by a student on his teacher (who has a Jewish name) when he told him in class "To hell with the Zionists".
Schools recorded over 12% of anti-Semitic incidents in recent months, according to the Creif data.
In response to those attacks, 600 arrests were registered in France in the month of October alone.
However, the effect is already being felt in the synagogues, which are being emptied of their residents.
The number of events in three months is equivalent to those that have occurred in France over the past three years, photo: from Le Parisien
In Israel we are not indifferent to numbers.
In line with the jump in anti-Semitic incidents, in recent months there has also been a 400% jump in the number of people seeking to immigrate to Israel from France, according to data from the Ministry of Immigration and Absorption.
In the last month, compared to the previous year, there has been a 331% increase in the number of cases being opened, and we are talking about a total of thousands of families seeking to come to Israel following the wave of anti-Semitism in their country.
"Israel Hayom" has learned that following the difficult data, Minister of Immigration and Absorption Ofir Sofer is expected to present next week, with the support of Prime Minister Netanyahu and Minister of Finance Smotrich, a new immigration and absorption plan, which will respond to the surge in Jewish requests for asylum in their country.
The program will focus on assistance with rent, reinforcement of Hebrew studies, job placement, study envelope for students and acceptance frameworks in the community.
In last week's budget discussions, Ministry of Finance officials marked the potential increase as one of the engines of growth in the coming years.
Anti-Semitic inscriptions in a Jewish cemetery in France (archive), photo: AP
"There is a definite fit between the anti-Semitism that intensified by hundreds of percent starting on October 7, and the growing interest in the desire of French Jews to immigrate to Israel.
At the same time, there is a strong desire of the Jews of the world who desire immigration to express solidarity with the citizens of Israel and to strengthen national morale," Minister Sofer told Israel Hayom.
The minister talks with new immigrants from France who arrived during the war, photo: Spokesperson of the Ministry of Immigration and Absorption
"We see a lot of interest from young people, students and young couples to immigrate from France and other Western countries such as the USA, Canada and the UK to Israel, therefore we are preparing for a large wave of immigration, and soon we will announce significant absorption programs in the areas of housing, Hebrew, employment and the community."
One of the largest Jewish communities in the world.
A conference against anti-Semitism held in March this year in the city of Lille, France // Photo: AP // One of the largest Jewish communities in the world.
A conference against anti-Semitism held in the city of Lille, France (archive), photo: None
He continues and emphasizes: "It is important to note that, as Minister of Immigration and Absorption, I want as much immigration as possible, and I welcome every immigrant who chooses to come to Israel, but I cannot put up with anti-Semitism against Jewish communities in the world."
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