French Jews flee to Israel as racist attacks mount

Emigration of French Jews to Israel doubled last year, after attacks on Jews by young Arabs supporting the Palestinian cause and an electoral breakthrough by the anti-Semitic, extreme right. The emigration figures, published by the Israeli government, come three days after the stabbing of a liberal rabbi in Paris.

The highest Jewish emigration for 30 years has been followed by a dispute over a proposal by a university in Paris that the European Union cut off financial aid to Israeli universities. Jewish students demonstrated against the move by the Pierre-et-Marie-Curie university yesterday, comparing it to the boycotting of Jewish interests by the Nazis before the Second World War.

But the emigration figures need to be kept in proportion. There are 1.2 million Jews in France, by far the largest population of any EU country. Of these, 2,326, or just under 0.2 per cent, decided to move to Israel last year. Yet Jewish organisations in France have been alarmed at the doubling of the figures in one year, despite the violence in the Middle East. Most of the emigrants are said to be in their 20s and 30s.

Julie, aged 20, from the Paris area, told the newspaper Le Monde yesterday that her parents agreed to let her go to Israel after she was attacked as she walked to her synagogue last winter. "Until last year, we were proud to be French," she said. "No longer. Now we are proud to be Jewish."

French political and religious leaders of all kinds condemned the knife attack last Friday on Rabbi Gabriel Farhi of the Jewish Liberal Movement. Rabbi Farhi, who is recovering from his wounds, tried to play down the political significance of the attack. "I think it was a question of a deranged individual but I have the impression that I am the only person who thinks so," he said. The rabbi's car was burnt outside his apartment block in Paris yesterday.

His father, Rabbi Daniel Farhi, founder of the move-ment, said he and his followers had always favoured a peaceful settlement of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. His synagogue was the only one in France that invited Muslims once a year to recite verses from the Koran. "[This attack] does not surprise me because, like all liberals, we talk a lot and we are in the shop window. Those who want to fight to the end don't like moderates."

Since the resurgence of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in the past three years, there have been scores of attacks on synagogues in France and street scuffles between Arab youths and Jewish children and students.