A French rabbi told a local radio station on Feb. 26 that half of his regular members have left his city due to anti-Semitism.
According to the Jewish Telegraphic agency, Rabbi Nissim Sultan, who lives in Grenoble, told the France Bleu Isère radio station, “It’s a troubling phenomenon that began about 15 years ago. The people who make up the core of our community have left, including young families with children and pensioners.”
Sultan added that France’s rising anti-Semitism has forced parents to “take measures.”
According to French government statistics, anti-Semitic incidents there have increased by 74 percent and anti-Semitic assaults have increased by 270 percent from 2017-2018. Around 20,000 Jews have left France since 2014.
French President Emmanuel Macron announced on Feb. 20 that the country is adopting the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance definition of anti-Semitism, which states that criticism of Israel that demonizes and de-legitimizes the Jewish state constitutes as anti-Semitism.
