The Great Synagogue, TunisSome 50 Tunisian Jews have already moved to Israel since the start of the Jasmine uprising, The Jerusalem Post reports. The Israeli government plans to offer financial incentives to attract still more: (With thanks: Lily)
Israel is planning to offer Tunisian Jews interested in emigrating following the recent uprising in the country a special absorption package, but members of the community said on Thursday that they were unaware of any significant change in their situation.
“They’ll receive a year of no-questions accommodation at an aliya center, and other benefits on top of what others get,” said Jewish Agency for Israel spokesman Haviv Rettig Gur.
Earlier Thursday, the Immigrant Absorption Ministry announced that the government would debate the details of the package, which will purportedly offer NIS 10,000 to Tunisian Jews in addition to benefits awarded to other olim.
“The regime change in Tunisia as a result of the Jasmine revolution... has brought about the Islamization of the government and rise in anti-Semitism,” stated a ministry document quoted by Israeli media. “There has a been an increasingly worsening attitude by the authorities and society toward the Jewish community.”
Elad Sonn, the ministry spokesman, confirmed the wording of the document and said it was based on “information from the Jewish Agency.”
Roger Bismuth, president of the Jewish community in Tunisia, said he had not noted a change in the government’s attitude toward Jews, nor did he know of plans by community members to leave the country en masse, although he didn’t rule it out entirely.
“I doubt anybody has heard anything like that,” he said by phone from Tunis on Thursday. “It might be true, there’s so much gossip going around.” (...)
In response to protesters’ harassment of worshipers at the (Tunis) synagogue, Bismuth petitioned his government, which pledged to provide better security for the Jewish community.
Since the uprising began, a total of between 40 and 50 Jews have chosen to move from Tunisia to Israel, JAFI officials said – not “25 families” as Hebrew-language news website Ynet had reported. Some of them had planned to emigrate before the uprising started.
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Perhaps they should have stayed formed their own party and run in the elections :).
ReplyDeleteAs of today, there are already 49 registered parties in Tunisia, most of them remain behind the scene.
it's a wise move because we do not know how Jews will be treated in the future in the M.E.
ReplyDeleteit's better for their kids and grandkids to grow up in their country surrounded by Jews and not Arabs.
Sultana Latifa
A Jewish refugee from an Arab land
to Sultana latifa
ReplyDeleteA Jewish refugee from a Jewish land- Need to read again Historia.
Israel a toujours etait un etat juif deja il y a plus de 2000 ans; les juifs ont ete forces de quitter le pays a cause de la gestapo romaine.Titus et Hadrien etc.Si l'on revient chez nous et que l'on trouve des arabes OK pas de pbe- mais nous n'acceptons pas de revendication territoriale arabe sur le sol juif.
Abraham