First summer in Israel for 150 French Jews

150 French Jews arrived in Tel Aviv today (Tuesday) to begin new lives in Israel, on a special aliyah flight sponsored by the International Fellowship of Christians and Jews (IFCJ).

The olim (immigrants) ranged in age from one month old to 77 years old. Among them were two families spanning three generations, while 77 of the new immigrants were children. Also among the new arrivals was Eva Saban, the sister-in-law of Philippe Braham, who was murdered in the Hyper Cacher supermarket terror attack in Paris in 2015.

“We have been wanting to make aliyah for a while, but after the terror attack at the Hyper Cacher we were left with no doubts. We are living in fear,” Saban said. “Our children go to an Orthodox school and as they leave the building they remove the kippah (skullcap) from their head. We no longer are sure of what we would like to do next, but we are confident that this is the right move for our children, and we pray to God it will all work out.”

Many of the families said they also were moving to Israel in the hopes of providing their children with a better and safer future. About 80 percent of the olim, who come from Paris suburbs with large Muslim populations, said they lived in a state of tension and even persecution. Many of these new immigrants are from lower-middle class backgrounds, and will require extra assistance in aliyah and absorption that IFCJ provides.

The olim plan to settle throughout Israel, including in Netanya, Ashdod, Ariel, Hadera, Haifa, Jerusalem, Modiin Ilit, Raanana, and Tel Aviv, though most will live in Ashdod and Netanya. Today’s olim will join 1,248 other French-Jewish immigrants who have moved to Israel with the IFCJ’s help since the organization began spearheading its own independent aliyah activities in late 2014.

“Aliyah has always been and is still a determining factor in Israeli society. The olim coming on aliyah from France have experienced some terrible incidents of hatred directed at them for one reason only – simply because they are Jewish,” said Rabbi Yechiel Eckstein, President of the IFCJ.