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| By: Israel Insider staff |
| Published: August 26, 2007 |
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Haaretz's interview with Dr. Joel Mergui, president of the umbrella organization of Jewish groups in Paris, caused an uproar among French Jews yesterday. In the interview, Mergui said that the immigration of French Jews to Israel was draining France of its Jewish population and hurting the Jewish community.
"Three thousand immigrants a year does not pose a danger, and all of the community's leaders should give those people [all their] support, not just to immigrate but also to remain in Israel," Gil Taieb, Mergui's deputy in Paris, as well as chair of the French chapter of the IDF Soldier's Welfare Association, said. He added that immigrating to Israel is a personal decision that has nothing to do with anti-Semitism.
"Our community is strong. A Jew is French like any other Frenchman," he continued.
"There are many Jews in politics and business, and I think there is no problem with being a Jew who has great love for the land of Israel and also a true citizen of France. There will always be Jews in France who wish to live there."
Ariel Goldman, a member of the leading French Jewish umbrella group CRIF, echoed those sentiments.
"There is no problem with immigration. The community is very strong, and it's not the community's numbers that ought to worry us, it's the base. And that is strong - thanks in part to the ties between France and Israel. With regard to Mergui's statements, I say there is nothing new under the sun. He is saying things we thought maybe 25 years ago, but not anymore," he said.
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