After the events last weekend in Paris, the Jews of France woke up to a new reality and some certainly decided to move to Israel. French olim are a high-quality population. Most are educated, have advanced degrees and are respected professionals. The French Jewish community includes doctors, lawyers, businesspeople and engineers, and has a rich culture that combines Jewish and democratic values, and Zionism is an important part of community life. Therefore, this population has the potential to enrich Israel's human capital, its economy, and its culture. But what is the state doing to take them in make the most of these valuable olim? Plenty of French immigrants are not absorbed in Israel as they should be: most do not have a complete command of Hebrew and do not work in the Israeli job market. Some find themselves traveling between Israel and France and continue to earn their living in France, and the Israeli economy doesn't always benefit. Some do work in Israel, but for French companies or from Israeli companies where the bulk of the work is conducted in French and in the French market. So only those who managed to pick up Hebrew in a few months of ulpan study master the language -- meaning the economic/employment absorption of French immigrants is faulty. An improvement in their Hebrew skills, as reported in the Rupin Report of 2010, stands at just 6% in a five-year period, and a study of French Jews from 2013 determined that insufficient Hebrew was seen as one of the main reasons keeping them from making aliyah. The absorption pains of French olim also comprise difficulty in finding schools for their children that fit their worldview. This is a population that is in the main traditional and does not identify with either of the dichotomist educational approaches in Israel -- secular or religious. Cataloguing pupils by the color of the kippahs they wear or by their dress is not acceptable to them. This population is not religious enough for a religious education and not secular enough for a secular one. It falls between the cracks between the two groups the Israeli public has decided upon, and that is precisely where is has something to contribute in terms of strengthening tolerance. If Israel wants to make the most of French aliyah, it must take action on two fronts: integrating adults into the Israeli job market and integrating the children into the school system. It appears that the government decision in February 2015 on encouraging and absorbing aliyah from France does not provide a sufficient solution to the aforementioned problems. The first step required is for the government to offer benefits to employers in every sector who commit to hiring French workers. In addition, there should be subsidized Hebrew instruction in the workplace to allow the employees to climb the ladder at companies and in government offices. We should encourage the establishment of a network of schools that will train the leaders of the future, a network that will foster the balance between Judaism and democracy, a value they were raised on. We need a national plan to utilize the raw human capital of these olim, who have the potential to contribute to Israel's national, economic, and cultural interests. Nathalie Akoun made aliyah from France 18 years ago and is the founder of the World Center for the Advancement of Hebrew.
Israel needs French Jews
מערכת ישראל היום
מערכת "ישראל היום“ מפיקה ומעדכנת תכנים חדשותיים, מבזקים ופרשנויות לאורך כל שעות היממה. התוכן נערך בקפדנות, נבדק עובדתית ומוגש לציבור מתוך האמונה שהקוראים ראויים לעיתונות טובה יותר - אמינה, אובייקטיבית ועניינית.
