Greater numbers of Ukranian, French Jews immigrating to Israel

World Today

Natan Sharansky, the head of Israel’s Jewish Agency which is responsible for absorbing new immigrants, predicted the number of Jews coming to Israel from Ukraine will have a 400 percent increase next year. While he said many of the people he spoke to from Ukraine’s war-torn East were postponing the decision as long as they could, that hasn’t stop immigration to Israel from reaching a record high. CCTV America’s Roee Ruttenberg reports.

Just a few months ago, many Jewish families gathered at Donetsk in eastern Ukraine as war raged on outside. Now many of them have immigrated to northern Israel to start a new home. Officials say families coming from Ukraine are contributing to a record high of Jewish immigration to the Jewish state.

The rise is also due to a spike in immigration from France. Over the summer, hundreds of French Jews arrived in Israel and were sponsored by the government. Many cited rising anti-Semitism in France as their reason for leaving.

Israel’s ‘Law of Return’ means that any Jewish person can move there for whatever reason. In the past year, officials said that immigration from Ukraine and France has doubled. For the first time ever, there are more Jews arriving from France than from anywhere else in the world, they added.

In some parts of Tel Aviv, the second-most populous city in Israel, signs and menus in French are more prevalent than English and even Hebrew.