Israeli physician Dr. Yehuda David on Thursday urged his fellow French Jews to make Aliyah to Israel.
Dr. David was a key figure in exposing the libel against the IDF over false charges of killing 12-year-old Mohammed al-Dura in Gaza during the Second Intifada in 2000.
"Anti-Semitism in France has been increasing over the last ten years. Compared to the situation in France when I made Aliyah, it’s like the difference between light and darkness. There are 800,000 Jews in France. Over the past five years there has been a fairly good number of Jews making Aliyah but recently there has been a significant drop because there is a new president,” he told Arutz Sheva in an interview.
"President Macron may attend the funeral of a murdered Jew, but he cannot stop anti-Semitism. There is currently no police or intelligence apparatus in France that can stop the waves of anti-Semitic violence, not only in synagogues but also in schools and government offices,” opined Dr. David.
"A few weeks ago, my father who lives there and has connections, received a message from one of his friends in the French equivalent of the Shin Bet security service asking him not to approach a place where there might be a terrorist attack, meaning that even if the French authorities know about a possible attack, they cannot do anything about it," he said, adding that there are places in France where French security forces are afraid to enter.
"I do not suggest to anyone to wander around the airport in Marseilles or in the Old City. It's dangerous. It's dangerous to move around in northern Paris or in the periphery. There is a line in the metro that if you go through the railway cars you think you have arrived in Gaza, it's just dangerous. That’s why I do not understand what the Jews are looking for in France."
Dr. David added that there is open anti-Semitism even in academic conferences in France. "A year ago, we warned that exams at the conclusion of medical and law school included a question asked by one of France's most famous lecturers about the international means to be used against Israel because it shelled Gaza and killed 30 children.”
"They equate the Holocaust with what is being done to the Palestinians, and this is despite the fact that we know how careful the IDF is being so as not to harm civilians. Such statements inflame the imagination and the feelings of vengeance, and this is growing stronger. This is a red light for the Jews of France because one day all this will spill over into catastrophe,” he warned.
"I keep giving interviews on Jewish radio in France and I call on French Jews to learn from history and move to Israel. The Jews of France must internalize the message and make Aliyah to Israel. We have an amazing country that can absorb everyone," concluded Dr. David.