As in the early days of the Zionist movement, there are those who come to settle the Land of Israel and there are those who redeem the Land by purchasing a piece of it from afar. So, too, today. In the wake of the ongoing assault on the Jewish right to the Land of Israel, Jews from disparate regions are acting on their previously latent Zionist aspirations.
The Chief Rabbi of Paris, Rabbi David Messas, called upon Jews to make aliyah (?move up?) to Israel, particularly at this time of strife for the House of Jacob. This past week, in Paris, over 3,000 Jews attended an aliyah fair organized by the Jewish Agency and the heads of Israeli municipalities. Of those attending, three hundred registered for immigration to Israel already. The head of the Jewish Agency in Paris, Moshe Almoznino, expects hundreds more to register for aliyah in the coming weeks, as a result of the fair. There has been a large growth in the numbers of French Jews interested in making aliyah to Israel recently.
Other Jews act on their Zionist identification by purchasing a piece of the Holy Land. A growing number of Jewish investors from the United States and Europe have been investing in a number of building projects in Israel. The investors, including Jews from Florida, New York, New Jersey and London, typically purchase residential properties in Israeli projects. According to the director of marketing at one such Herzliya project, Marina Village, ?Recent customers have made it clear that it is important to them to send money to Israel. The motivation is economic, too, but it is primarily emotional and Zionist.? The director of sales at Marina Towers concurred, ?While these people don?t lack money, the trend in the past two months is clearly pointing to an interest in identifying with events in Israel and I hear many comments on this.?
The Chief Rabbi of Paris, Rabbi David Messas, called upon Jews to make aliyah (?move up?) to Israel, particularly at this time of strife for the House of Jacob. This past week, in Paris, over 3,000 Jews attended an aliyah fair organized by the Jewish Agency and the heads of Israeli municipalities. Of those attending, three hundred registered for immigration to Israel already. The head of the Jewish Agency in Paris, Moshe Almoznino, expects hundreds more to register for aliyah in the coming weeks, as a result of the fair. There has been a large growth in the numbers of French Jews interested in making aliyah to Israel recently.
Other Jews act on their Zionist identification by purchasing a piece of the Holy Land. A growing number of Jewish investors from the United States and Europe have been investing in a number of building projects in Israel. The investors, including Jews from Florida, New York, New Jersey and London, typically purchase residential properties in Israeli projects. According to the director of marketing at one such Herzliya project, Marina Village, ?Recent customers have made it clear that it is important to them to send money to Israel. The motivation is economic, too, but it is primarily emotional and Zionist.? The director of sales at Marina Towers concurred, ?While these people don?t lack money, the trend in the past two months is clearly pointing to an interest in identifying with events in Israel and I hear many comments on this.?