A few orthodox rabbis are reportedly unhappy with the Jewish Agency's plan to take over 1,20,000 Jews to Israel over the next four years. The massive Aliyah, which is expected to occur as a wave of French Jews exodus hits the land of Israel, comes in the wake of reports that anti-Semitic acts in France have doubled during 2014. However, it is understood that a few rabbis fear that the looming Aliyah would mess with the "traditions" of Jews and even result in assimilation.
With the aim of getting one in every five French Jews in Israel, The Jewish People Policy Institute, the Jewish Agency's think tank, is already looking at ways to create job opportunities for the settlers, reports IB Times UK edition. This "moving up" or the immigration of Jews from the diaspora to Israel is called Aliyah.
The news of massive migration of the French Jews comes in the wake of reports that suggest that anti-Semitic acts in France have almost doubled in the past year. According to the statistics released by the Representative Council of Jewish Institutions of France, around 851 anti-Semitic acts were registered in 2014, compared to the 423 the previous year. Meanwhile, acts of physical violence jumping to 241 from 105, reports Arutz Sheva.
The figures are expected to further rise in 2015, following the Charlie Hebdo attacks in Paris.
The last time an Aliyah on such massive scale occurred when in the 1970s when over 10 lakh Jews and 3 lakh non-Jewish people moved to Israel from the Soviet Union. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was quoted as speaking at the Cabinet on Sunday (25 January): "We must prepare to absorb large-scale immigration to Israel. At the same time we will prepare an emergency plan to cancel bureaucracy so as to enable massive construction to absorb the immigrants, just as we did previously to absorb the major immigration from the Soviet Union."
Meanwhile, a number of prominent rabbis have voiced concerns and expressed their objection to the Aliyah of French Jews, reports Ynetnews, an Israeli news source. They believe that French Jews' immigration will result in mixed marriages, eventually lead to Jews not observing mitzvot and other religious traditions.
