.1% of French Jewry Leaves in a Single Day
Last week, more than 600 French Jews (out of a total Jewish population estimated at between 500,000 and 600,000) made aliyah to Israel. While a participant quoted by the Jewish Telegraphic Agency cited the pull of Israel and insisted that she wasn’t “running away from France,” it’s likely, at least for some of the new immigrants, that Zionist ardor wasn’t the only factor at work. Earlier this year, for instance, 7,000 French Jews reportedly signed a petition requesting political asylum in the United States, citing antisemitism in France.
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