During the Jewish National Fund (JNF) program “Israel Today and Tomorrow” in Paris last week, Deputy Chairman of the JNF Gael Greenwald spoke to Arutz Sheva about his organization's activities in France.
Greenwald acknowledged that the Jewish community in France is facing many challenges, prime among them anti-Semitism. In January, video from the eve of International Holocaust Remembrance Day showed a massive march in Paris of anti-Semites chanting "Jews, out of France."
The anti-Semitism is "a reason why many Jews in France see their future in the state of Israel," reports Greenwald.
The rampant Jew-hatred has elicited a response among many of France's Jewry to defend themselves, a struggle being lead by the country's Jewish Defense League (JDL).
Despite the severity of the anti-Semitism, the JNF deputy chairman argued assimilation is the largest problem of the French Jews, and said for this reason his organization has initiated programs to combat the phenomenon.