Natan Sharansky, head of the Agency, claimed that the motive for the French arrivals was positive identification with Israel, and not a flight from persecution.
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“We are celebrating today the aliyah of hundreds of new olim who will begin their lives in the Jewish State, many of whom are modern-day pioneers moving to Israel’s North and South”, said Nefesh B’Nefesh Co-Founder and Executive Director Rabbi Yehoshua Fass.
Chairman of The Jewish Agency for Israel Natan Sharansky, himself an immigrant from the former Soviet Union, said, “French Jews who immigrate to Israel are coming out of choice: they have a whole world of opportunities before them, and they are choosing to come to Israel”. This position seems to run counter to that of Trump’s major supporter, mega donor Sheldon Adelson, who is aligned with the Likud party leader Benjamin Netanyahu.
Thousands of French Jews have immigrated to Israel via the JewishAgency so far this year, after last year’s all-time record of 7,800.
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Zoe Brode, 18, of Boulder, was one of 218 North American immigrants to move to Israel Monday on a chartered Nefesh B’Nefesh flight, the organization responsible for removing or minimizing the financial, professional, logistical and social obstacles of immigration to Israel. The plan includes efforts to deepen young French Jews’ Jewish identity, bring them to experience Israel on a variety of programs, provide French Jews with comprehensive aliyah information and counseling, remove barriers to employment, and increase the number of Jewish Agency shluchim in France.
