• Home
  • About
    • About
    • Policies
  • Submissions
    • Op-eds
    • News / Announcements
  • Contact
  • Donate
  • Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

eJewish Philanthropy

Your Jewish Philanthropy Resource

  • News Bits
  • Jewish Education
  • Readers Forum
  • Research
  • Show Search
Hide Search
You are here: Home / Inside Israel / Je Ne T’aime Pas Israel: Drop in French Jews’ Immigration to Israel

Je Ne T’aime Pas Israel: Drop in French Jews’ Immigration to Israel

September 27, 2016 By eJP

Sharp downturn in French immigration to Israel blamed chiefly on absence of job opportunities, study says.

Two French olim proudly showing their new Israeli ID cards. Photo courtesy The Jewish Agency.
Two French olim proudly showing their new Israeli ID cards; photo courtesy The Jewish Agency.

By Judy Maltz
Haaretz.com

Despite major efforts invested by the Israeli government to encourage French immigration, the number of Jews moving to Israel from France this year is expected to drop by 40 percent, according to a report published Monday.

This sharp downturn has been attributed primarily to the failure of the government to effectively integrate these immigrants from Europe’s largest Jewish community into Israeli society.

In its 2016 annual assessment, the Jewish People Policy Institute, a Jerusalem-based think tank, specifically blames the slowdown on the lack of adequate job prospects for French Jews in Israel. “French Jews considering aliyah fear a fate similar to that endured by some of their relatives,” according to the report.  “A chief concern is that they will find it difficult to work in their chosen fields or to earn at the level to which they have become accustomed. For these reasons, some French Jews are delaying aliyah or even moving to countries other than Israel.”

The drop in immigration from France follows three years of unprecedented growth. A series of terror attacks, several of them targeting Jews, coupled with a sharp economic downturn were the catalysts of the French aliyah boom.

In each of the last two years, more than 7,000 Jews relocated from France to Israel, making France the top provider in the world of immigrants to Israel. Based on numbers for the first eight months of this year, the JPPI report estimates that only 5,000 will arrive by the end of 2016.

Several other factors, according to the JPPI report, may have contributed to this downturn, among them the French prime minister’s commitment to protect the Jewish community and the recent spike in terror attacks in Israel. Another possible explanation, it said, is that most of the ideologically motivated Jews in France have already moved to Israel.

Still, according to the report, an estimated 200,000 French Jews (40 percent of the entire community) have, in two recent surveys, expressed interest in immigrating to Israel. “The aliyah slowdown does not necessarily indicate that the pool of French Jewish aliyah candidates has ‘dried up’ or that interest in immigration has lessened,” according to the report. “Rather, it likely indicates the existence of delaying factors that have yet to be addressed.”

The authors of the report recommend that rather than invest more time and effort in campaigns to encourage French Jews to immigrate, the government would be best advised to focus on helping those who have already arrived adjust to life in Israel.

“In our view, accelerating the pace of immigration from France does not entail augmenting current aliyah-management efforts,” they write. “Not is there a need for aggressive marketing campaigns or additional aliyah fairs. What is needed is a response to the basic needs of employment, including degree recognition, professional training, job placement and assistance in finding affordable housing.”

Print Friendly, PDF & Email

Share this:

  • Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window)

Filed Under: Inside Israel Tagged With: Aliyah, Jewish Europe today, JPPI, The Jewish Agency/JAFI

Click here to Email This Post Email This Post to friends or colleagues!

Primary Sidebar

Join The Conversation

What's the best way to follow important issues affecting the Jewish philanthropic world? Our Daily Update keeps you on top of the latest news, trends and opinions shaping the landscape, providing an invaluable source for inspiration and learning.
Sign Up Now
For Email Marketing you can trust.

Continue The Conversation

  • Email
  • Facebook
  • RSS
  • Twitter

Recent Comments

  • Bruce Powell on An Invitation To Transparency: Reflections on an Open Salary Spreadsheet
  • Sara Rigler on Announcement: Catherine Reed named CEO of American Friends of Magen David Adom
  • Donna Burkat on The Blessings in 2020’s Losses
  • swindmueller on Where Do We Go From Here?
    Reflections On 2021
    A Jewish Response to These Uncertain Times
  • Alan Henkin on Where Do We Go From Here?
    Reflections On 2021
    A Jewish Response to These Uncertain Times

Most Read Recent Posts

  • What Title for Henrietta Szold?
  • Jewish Agency Accuses Evangelical Contractors of “Numerous Violations” but Denies They Evangelized New Immigrants
  • An Invitation To Transparency: Reflections on an Open Salary Spreadsheet
  • Why One Zoom Class Has Generated a Following
  • The Blessings in 2020’s Losses

Categories

The Way Back Machine

Footer

What We Do

eJewish Philanthropy highlights news, resources and thought pieces on issues facing our Jewish philanthropic world in order to create dialogue and advance the conversation. Learn more.

Top 40 Philanthropy Blogs, Websites & Influencers in 2020

Copyright © 2021 · eJewish Philanthropy · All Rights Reserved