"I see the end of the Diaspora of Jews in Europe," said Rabbi Lau, a survivor of the Holocaust and a popular lecturer in America and Europe. He called on Israel "to prepare for a new phase of the spiritual and physical absorption of European Jewry before they consider emigrating to the Unites States or Australia [instead]."



He warned that rising anti-Semitism threatens the Jews of Europe, noting that anti-Semitism is on the rise in nearly every European country - expressed, among other ways, via extreme anti-Israel sentiments. Jewish Agency statistics have more than 1.14 million Jews in Europe, including more than a million in western Europe.



Rabbi Lau cited a report last week that 62% of Germans are tired of hearing about the Holocaust, and that 70% respond with anger when the subject of Nazi crimes is discussed.



Only some 3,000 western European Jews have made Aliyah in each of the past two years.