Netanyahu's Call: Jews in France Should Immigrate to Israel

Benjamin Netanyahu, the Prime Minister of Israel, has urged Jews in France, mourning the deaths of four Jews in the attack in Paris on Friday, to permanently immigrate to Israel. Netanyahu has also made this call to Jews in other European countries. According to Israeli media, Netanyahu stated on Saturday, January 20, that a special committee has been formed by his government ministers to establish facilities for the immigration of Jews from France and Europe to Israel, which will begin its work immediately. Netanyahu's remarks came a day after an armed attack on a Jewish supermarket in southeastern Paris. On Friday, January 19, four Jewish customers were killed by the assailant during the attack on a Jewish supermarket in 'Port de Vincennes' in southeastern Paris. French police special forces killed the hostage-taker after several hours and rescued the remaining hostages. Hundreds of Jews in France gathered on Saturday night in front of the supermarket to commemorate the victims. Manuel Valls, the Prime Minister of France, attended the gathering of Parisian Jews and expressed his condolences. Valls told the Jews to stay in France, stating, 'France without Jews is a failure, and France is no longer the country it used to be.' In recent days, both Valls and French President Francois Hollande have stated that the attack on the Jewish supermarket was motivated by anti-Semitic intentions and that France will not tolerate it. Hollande met with a delegation of French Jews on Sunday morning, January 21, before joining world leaders in a large rally in Paris, expressing his condolences to them. According to Israeli media reports, the Jews at this meeting at the Elysee Palace urged the French President to take practical and 'real' steps to combat anti-Semitism. Benjamin Netanyahu, along with a delegation of ministers from Israel, is among the world leaders who traveled to France to participate in the large rally on Sunday. On Friday, simultaneous with the hostage situation at the 'Hyper Cacher' supermarket in Paris, French police advised the owners of other Jewish shops in the country to close their businesses and, if they had no time, to lower their shutters, turn off the lights, and lock the doors from the inside. Meanwhile, the Great Synagogue of Paris was temporarily closed, a measure not seen since World War II. Of the more than 600,000 Jews living in France, only 487,000 remain in the country; in recent years, over 130,000 of them have permanently moved to the United States, Canada, or Israel. French Jews report feeling more insecure than ever. Israeli media reported on Sunday, January 21, that the bodies of the Jewish victims from the supermarket will be transferred to Israel for burial. The deceased included Yoav Hatab, Philippe Braham, Yohanan Cohen, and Francois Michel-Saad. Yoav Hatab was the son of the chief rabbi of the remaining Jews in Tunisia. According to testimonies from released hostages from the supermarket, Yoav Hatab had attempted to surprise the armed hostage-taker, Amedi Coulibaly, to take the machine gun from him, but Coulibaly shot Hatab. Witnesses stated that Yoav Hatab bled for 45 minutes, but Coulibaly refused to allow other hostages to take the injured man out, resulting in his death. Amedi Coulibaly, two hours before being killed by French commandos, had told a French television network in a phone call, 'I killed several Jews.'