A European Jewish leader on Sunday expressed concern over the response of the Israeli Government to the latest spate of terror attacks in France.
In a statement, Rabbi Menachem Margolin, Director General of the Brussels-based European Jewish Association (EJA) questioned the decision by the Israeli authorities to call for an increase in Aliyah, the immigration of Jews in the Diaspora to Israel, rather than focusing on increasing the security of European Jews.
"Aliyah is one's personal yearning and should definitely be a goal for the State of Israel. However, anyone who is familiar with the European reality knows that a call to Aliyah is not the solution for anti-Semitic terror," said Rabbi Margolin.
"The Israeli government must increase security for the European Jewish community, rather than just repeat Pavlovian calls for Aliyah after every terror attack," he added.
According to Rabbi Margolin, Jews who wish to make Aliyah do not need this kind of encouragement and continue to immigrate to Israel, recalling the increase of immigration from France to Israel in recent months and years as evidence of this.
However, he stressed, “such Israeli campaigns weaken the position of European Jews who choose to remain in their historic homelands, and wish to be able to do so in safety”.
In reality, the vast majority of European Jews do not make Aliyah and the Israeli government should acknowledge their ‘’strategic importance’’ as supporters of the State of Israel on the European stage, he added.
"Let there be no doubt, the EJA and its member communities, as well as other like-minded organisations, invest a great deal of resources in improving Israel's image throughout Europe," said Rabbi Margolin.
Meanwhile, EJA urged European Interior Ministers to issue gun carrying permits and provide self-defense training to heads of European Jewish communities as well as to Jewish business owners.
Acknowledging the significance of this appeal in the immediate aftermath of a series of gun-related terror attacks in France, Rabbi Margolin emphasized that "special times call for special measures”. “There is absolutely no intention to create a pro-active force. Rather, we expect local authorities to identify, train and oversee all designated armed personnel," he declared.