Here’s what Meryl has to say about it:
A Jewish community center in Paris was burned down last night. The police suspect arson. But there is no anti-Semitism in France.
[ . . . ]
How can that be? Anti-Semitism is not a big problem in France. Chirac said so. He even chastised Ariel Sharon for saying that it was.
Read the rest.
On a related note, Imshin has a disgusting travesty of justice for an 11-year-old Jewish boy who was beaten up by Arab classmates who shouted antisemitic jeers at him while they beat him. The school expelled both attackers, but then their parents sued the schoolboard and the ministry of education. Subsequently, both boys were allowed back into school, and damages ordered paid to them.
The ministry of education and the parents opposed this decision in an appeal court. Imagine what will happen to the Jewish boy if he sees his tormentors back in school. The execution of this judgment means in fact expelling the victim from the school. The judgment will be rendered in August, when all France is on vacation, and the lawyer of the parents is very pessimistic, based on many recent cases in France where complaints about anti-Semitism were minimized and usually dismissed by the French courts. In this case, the administrative court judged that, based on the accused boys declarations, the anti-Semitic acts, even though recognized by the authors, were not numerous enough to justify expelling the authors form school. So, for this French court, a certain level of anti-Semitism, even though illegal (it is against the law in France to proffer anti-Semitic or racist remarks in public), is acceptable.
But no, Meryl’s right, of course: there’s no antisemitism in France.
Update: Bad news for France but good news for the Israeli tourism industry.
While in Paris last week, the conversation with Parisian Jews (Juives?) naturally led to the subject of aliyah.
I can sum it up by saying that in general;
-many think the situation in France is exagerated in the [foreign] media exactly like the terror situation in Israel,
-many think it arrogant for North Americans to tell them to make aliyah, while the US goes thru 9/11 and is under constant ‘condition orange’, and Canada has people murderedd in front of pizza shops and schools burned as well,
-many don’t speak fluent Hebrew or English,
-they are scared to move to Israel,
-they also want what I call ‘aliyah-deluxe’ – arriving with a decent job already assured
Add it all up, same excuses/reasons as North American Jews. Ho-hum.
If anything, more Juives are moving to Quebec than Israel, and you can already see how the Montreal Sephardic community is flourishing (while the ashkenzim evaporate) and sephardic leaders are achieving high community positions traditionally held by ashkenazim. Sephardic synagogues are full, and ashkenazi ones helplessly watch membership decrease yearly.
Nothwithstanding a massive Juif immigration, my Dad gives thinks that the sepharadim are only one generation behind the ashkenazim, who are already increasingly assimilating, having less kids, and coming to synagogue less.
Who said anything about aliyah? Or maybe you’re confusing me with Ariel Sharon… I can see how that’d be an easy mistake to make 🙂
Seriously why would a french jew move to Israel to escape anti-semitism. How many jews have died because of anti-semitism over the last 5 years in France. None that I know of. How many have died in Israel? Hundreds. Israel is ironically the most dangerous country for jews to live in.
France might be 10% muslim. But Israel is 18% muslim and growing. If a french jew move to Israel, it must be for ideological reasons rather than to escape anti-semitism.
Aliyah is on the minds of many French Jews. The same way goyish French are disappointed that France is going ‘immigrant’ on them, the Jews are also feeling more alien.
Aliyah is ‘the’ strategic weapon against everything the world is throwing at us. Aliyah reaffirms that Israel is central to Jewish life. Aliyah is about stopping to run away from our destiny and our collective problems. Aliyah is not an option, it’s a requirement in the Torah like the obligation to respect Mom&Dad and to give tzedakah.
Don’t believe the demographic numbers. They are based on yesterday’s rates of growth and assume that the rate is constant, not today’s, or tomorrow’s. The facts are that the Arab birthrate (Palestinian and Israeli) are higher than the Jewish, but falling as well, while in contrast, secular Israeli birthrates are falling but religious are multiplying.
Israel needs the French, Americans, English and Canadians now.