Some 200 new immigrants from France landed in Ben Gurion International Airport last night. Chief Rabbis Metzger and Amar, Prime Minister Sharon, Absorption Minister Tzippy Livny and Jewish Agency Chairman Salai Meridor were on hand to welcome them. Sharon told the new Israelis, "Jews should move to Israel not out of fear or hatred, but rather because this is their homeland." He said that the struggle against anti-Semitism should be waged independently of the campaign to encourage Aliyah [Jewish immigration to Israel]. He praised the French government for its actions against anti-Semitism. He thus made amends for his recent call to French Jewry to escape anti-Semitism in France by making Aliyah "before it's too late."
The arrival of the Jews was widely covered by the international press, including CNN, BBC and even China's xinhuanet.com. The group of arrivals included 50 children and 55 university students. About half the group came to Israel under a government program initiated a year ago bringing French Jewish groups to Israel. The newcomers started planning to emigrate long before Sharon's controversial speech.
As the group was landing, it was learned that anonymous vandals had desecrated 32 graves in a Jewish cemetery near Straussberg, in eastern France. Swastikas were reportedly spray-painted on the tombstones. France's Interior Minister condemned the vandalism.
The arrival of the Jews was widely covered by the international press, including CNN, BBC and even China's xinhuanet.com. The group of arrivals included 50 children and 55 university students. About half the group came to Israel under a government program initiated a year ago bringing French Jewish groups to Israel. The newcomers started planning to emigrate long before Sharon's controversial speech.
As the group was landing, it was learned that anonymous vandals had desecrated 32 graves in a Jewish cemetery near Straussberg, in eastern France. Swastikas were reportedly spray-painted on the tombstones. France's Interior Minister condemned the vandalism.