Rabbi to French Jewry: We stand with you

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Paris, Jan. 15 — “A fire is burning.” This Vladimir (Ze’ev) Jabotinsky declared to European Jewry in the 1930s. Too few heeded his cry. As I leave Paris after a solidarity mission following terrorist attacks at Charlie Hebdo and Hyper Cacher, I offer a similar cry. 

French Prime Minister Manuel Valls proclaimed, “France without Jews is not France,” meaning: you must stay; you belong here. But virtually every French Jew I spoke to expressed fear about being — remaining — in France. Their fear is palpable and has prompted them to consider leaving. Even two leaders of CRIF (translated as the Representative Council of French Jewish Institutions, which represents all of French Jewry) with whom we met separately told us some of their children and their families moved to Israel – while others are contemplating similar aliyah. CRIF leaders work to encourage French Jewry to stay in France; that some of their children choose to live in Israel speaks volumes.

During the solidarity mission, I visited the legendary Nazi hunter Beate Klarsfeld, who lives in Paris with her husband, Serge. Years back, Beate and I joined in protests around the world against the Austrian President Kurt Waldheim—an ex-Nazi. With her customary candor, Beate told me, “If this past week was only about terrorism against Jews, there would be little outcry here. After Jews were murdered in Toulouse a few years ago, there was hardly any protest. It’s only because the attack at Hyper Cacher was linked to Charlie Hebdo that millions marched in the street.” 

I was not alone on this mission. Several young rabbis and students – voices of the future – took part as well. As a result, we were able to fan out, connecting with a larger portion of the French Jewish community. Our basic message was the same: students telling students, rabbis telling rabbis and other Jewish communal leaders: We Are One With You.

To follow are a few textual “snapshots” of the past few days — captions to untaken photographs. 

Charlie Hebdo, Hyper Cache, Paris, aliyah, Rabbi Avi Weiss
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