Itongadol.- Two Jewish families graced Ben-Gurion International Airport\’s Arrivals hall on Monday afternoon, becoming the first Jewish families arriving in Israel from France since the Islamic State (ISIS) attack which killed 129.
Both families, Paris natives, immigrated via the International Fellowship of Christians and Jews (IFCJ).
"After the attack, people were afraid to leave their homes," Daniel Bentura, who came to Israel with his wife and two children, stated upon leaving. "There were police everywhere. It was simply terrifying."
"For two years we have lived without security and have wanted to immigrate to Israel," Bentura added. "Anti-Semitism in Paris has greatly increased."
"I would not want my children to live, learn and get married in France," he continued. "Life in Israel is far safer than the current situation in Paris."
"We have family and friends here; for us, this is our home. "
Both the Bentura family and Sergei Uzan, who also returned to Israel Monday after making Aliyah 20 years ago and having returned to France, are moving to Netanya.
The IFCJ has helped hundreds of French immigrants receive financial support, help finding employment, immigration and acclimation assistance for families, and other services.
"The IFCJ is committed to protect the Jewish communities in need around the world and help those who want to immigrate from these communities," President Rabbi Yechiel Eckstein stated.
The move is the latest in a mass wave of French Aliyah, being sponsored in part by the Israeli government. 7,000 French Jews made Aliyah in 2014 as part of the three-year program, and a recent poll suggests some 80% of French Jewry are considering leaving, primarily to Israel.