Subscribe to Print Edition | Fri., December 14, 2007 Tevet 5, 5768 | | Israel Time: 00:51 (EST+7) web haaretz.com   Back to Homepage Rosner's Domain Diplomacy Defense Jewish World Opinion National Print Edition Advertising Books Arts & Leisure Business Real Estate Easy Start Travel Week's End Anglo File Hanukkah

German President Horst Koehler, right, and the new Israeli Ambassador to Germany, Yoram Ben-Zeev in Berlin on Wednesday. (Reuters) del.icio.us Digg It!  new Last update - 23:22 12/12/2007 Israel denies urging Jewish C.I.S. emigres to leave Germany By Reuters Tags: Nativ, U.S.S.R jews, Germany  Israel is not trying to encourage Jews who left the Soviet Union for Germany to migrate to Israel, its ambassador to Berlin said on Wednesday. German media had reported Nativ, an Israeli agency, was encouraging Jews in Germany to relocate but Yoram Ben-Zeev told a news conference it was aiming only to give them a sense of Israeli culture. "Nativ is not there to get immigrants from the former Soviet Union," Been-Zeev told journalists after being confirmed as the new ambassador to Germany by President Horst Koehler. Advertisement "The main purpose of Nativ is to bring to those communities a sense of the Jewish culture, the Israeli culture and to help with education. The agenda is not to become movers of the communities to Israel." However, Been-Zeev said Israel was the natural home for Jews and anyone wanting to move to Israel was "more than welcome". Reports that Nativ emissaries would recruit settlers for Israel struck a nerve in Germany. It is proud it has the world's fastest growing Jewish community with 220,000 Jews arriving from the former Soviet Union since 1990. Germany had a Jewish population of 670,000 before it was decimated by the Nazi regime and the Holocaust. There was a vestigial Jewish community of 29,000 in 1990 before the Jewish immigrants from the former Soviet Union began arriving. Leaders of the Jewish community in Germany had expressed alarm over the reports that Nativ, formed in the 1950s as an intelligence agency to build contacts with Jewish activists in the Soviet Union, planned to persuade Jews to leave Germany. "It should not be for me to comment on how communities are moving from one place to another," Ben-Zeev said. "Certainly, Israel is the Jewish state, and it is the natural home. Those who want to come are more than welcome. This will always be their home." Related articles: Germany set to demand explanations about Nativ activity Nativ wins bid for outreach to Russian-speaking Jews in Germany More Jewish World news and features Bookmark to del.icio.us Righteous King Morocco's King Mohammed V could be first Arab 'righteous gentile'. Life of color Israel's first graffiti-supplies store owner loves to paint walls.   1.   Double talk 19:39  |  Fred Omran 12/12/07   2.   Amnesia 21:01  |  Ben 12/12/07   3.   not working anyway 21:17  |  Leona 12/12/07   4.   Germany and Israel battle for souls 21:28  |  topanga 12/12/07   5.   Leona 21:55  |  marbpl 12/12/07   6.   Nativity 22:07  |  sh 12/12/07   7.   #4 Topanga 22:19  |  Paul Wood 12/12/07   8.   topanga 23:41  |  Axel 12/12/07   9.   lack of solidarity 23:49  |  jorge grosz 12/12/07   10.   reply to number 5 01:23  |  ROB OF MELBOURNE AUS 13/12/07   11.   topanga and the battle 02:41  |  Fred Omran 13/12/07   12.   `German` media 03:56  |  jjvanka 13/12/07   13.   stats for #5 Paul 04:30  |  topanga 13/12/07   14.   Rob in Melbourne 22:28  |  sweis Melbourne 14/12/07

Today Online Israel, U.S. to discuss their differering assessments on Iran Responses: 116 Ruth Meisels: No commandment says Jews must rule J'lem Responses: 125 Lisa Goldman: Law applied capriciously over my Lebanon trip Responses: 27 Yossi Sarid: Angela Merkel is antithesis of Hillary Clinton Responses: 33 Yoel Marcus: There are no Israeli politicians to rely on Responses: 34 Rosner: Should U.S. Jews have voice in shaping Israel policy? Responses: 24 Rosner's Domain So, Should American Jews have a voice in shaping Israel's policies? Who believes in intelligence reports? American Jews are losing interest in Israel Guest: U.S public doesn't think there is need for or a point to creating a Palestinian state More Headlines 22:21 Qassam hits Negev factory as gov't declares 'special situation' 00:37 U.S. to pledge $500 million toward helping rehabilitate PA 20:34 Haniyeh: Gaza funeral blast is part of Fatah conspiracy to sow chaos 20:15 Reformist Iranian opposition slams Ahmadinejad's Holocaust denial 17:41 Stealth campaign underway to name late Moroccan king as righteous gentile 19:49 IDF chief: Druze officers are this generation's Maccabees 20:35 French court tries far-right leader Le Pen for Nazi remarks 19:53 UN Security Council extends Golan Heights troop presence by six months 13:41 Israel, U.S. to meet to discuss differing assessments on Iran 15:46 Top Fatah official abducted by Hamas gunmen in Gaza Strip Previous Editions Select Day 14 dec 13 dec 12 dec 11 dec 10 dec 09 dec 07 dec 06 dec 05 dec 04 dec 03 dec 02 dec

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