Netanyahu to French Jews: Israel Is Your Home
Prime minister say a special ministerial committee will convene next week to discuss steps to encourage immigration from France and from Europe in general.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reached out to France's Jews on Saturday, following deadly terrorist attacks last week in Paris, one of which targeting a Jewish supermarket, telling them that Israel is their home.
Netanyahu said a special ministerial committee will convene next week to discuss steps to encourage immigration from France and from Europe in general.
"I wish to tell to all French and European Jews – Israel is your home," Netanyahu said. "If they world doesn't come to its senses, terror will strike in other places as well."
Netanyahu will travel to France on Tuesday to attend an event by the Jewish community, held in the wake of the attacks, in which 17 people were killed by Islamist terrorists in separate attacks on the Charlie Hebdo magazine's offices and on a kosher supermarket.
In 2014, immigration from France outpaced immigration from the United States for the second year running, with a total reaching nearly 7,000 – more than double that of 2013.
The sharp increase in immigration from France in recent years has been attributed to a combination of growing anti-Semitism in the country and a bad economy.
Minister of Aliyah and Immigrant Absorption Sofa Landver predicted that more than 10,000 Jews from France would immigrate to Israel in 2015.
Judy Maltz contributed to this report
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