Record number of French olim arriving

by Nathaniel Rosen
The Jerusalem Post
July 25, 2006

Despite the escalating violence in northern Israel, 650 French 
olim are set to arrive Tuesday, the largest French aliya on a 
single day since 1971. 

The olim are coming as part of a joint project between the 
Jewish Agency and the French aliya organization AMI, and 
will arrive at Ben-Gurion Airport on two chartered Israir flights. 
Five-hundred of the immigrants will arrive on a specially 
chartered 747 from Paris and another 150 olim will arrive on 
a smaller plane from Marseille. They will be welcomed by 
Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and other distinguished guests, 
such as Jewish Agency Chairman Ze'ev Bielski and AMI founder 
Pierre Besnainou. 

The Jewish Agency expects close to 3,500 French immigrants 
to make aliya this year, the largest amount since 1970, 
when 4,414 olim arrived. 

Jewish Agency spokesman Michael Jankelowitz attributed the 
increase in aliya to the joint efforts of the Jewish Agency and 
AMI in promoting aliya in France, as well as the French 
community's strong ties to Israel. This is the second year of 
the Jewish Agency-AMI partnership. Last year, the two 
organizations brought nearly 300 French olim to Israel. 

New olim who will be moving to the North will, and already 
have, received specialized aid from both the Jewish Agency 
and the Ministry of Immigrant Absorption. 

Immigration and Absorption Minister Ze'ev Boim toured 
immigration centers and immigrant residences in various 
northern cities on Monday, including Haifa, Kiryat Yam, 
Karmiel, Safed and Kiryat Shmona. Boim's first stop was at 
Haifa's Rambam Hospital, where he met with a resident 
wounded by a Katyusha rocket. 

During Boim's visit to an absorption center in Kiryat Yam, 
a siren signaling an incoming missile sounded, forcing the 
minister and center residents into a bomb shelter. 

Last Wednesday, Boim traveled to one of the largest 
synagogues in Paris to talk to the forthcoming olim. 
"He [Boim] spoke to them and promised them that when they 
come to Israel, we will be there with them at every obstacle 
they have to deal with," said Boim's spokeswoman Shiri Krispin.