Volume 5, Issue 5 / Iyar, 5762 / May 2002
French Students Feel At Home in Israel
By Simon Griver
This Passover was different than previous Passovers for French high school student Laure Atal. On the eve of the festival the family discovered that anti-Semitic vandals had ripped the mezuza off their front door and scattered the torn remains of the inner parchment outside their home.
"I feel so much more at home here," said Atal, 18, from the Paris suburb of Bagnolet, who was in Israel for the first time. "I've already decided that I want to make aliyah."
Atal was one of 200 French students who made a solidarity visit to Israel in April within the framework of the Birthright/Discovery program with a 10-day itinerary organized by the Jewish Agency's Israel Experience. With a large percentage of the students expressing serious interest in aliyah, the Jewish Agency was able to show them the educational options on offer for new immigrants.
"I have always wanted to study abroad," explained Atal, who is a 12th grade high school student in Paris "And as a Jew I think Israel is the obvious place to do so. I feel very comfortable here. The fact that there are so many soldiers walking around with guns unnerved me when I first arrived. But then I realized that they are here to protect us so I've got used to them."
Miriam Cespi, 19, also from Paris feels the same way. A first year student in Computer Science at the University of Paris, she had visited Israel seven times previously.
"When we walk in the street people curse at us and call us dirty Jews," explained Cespi. "I am very scared. When I finish at university I would like to come and live in Israel."
Her cousin, Meir Azulin, 18, from Paris, was also on the solidarity mission. "The situation in France is especially difficult for observant Jews like myself who walk around wearing a kippa," he said. "A few weeks ago I came out of the Metro and was set upon by eight youths. They beat me and kicked me. I was badly bruised and needed medical treatment. We complained to the police but they do nothing. Several friends of mine have had worse experiences and have been hospitalized."
Azulin was in Israel for the fourth time. A 12th grade high school student he was also eager to make aliyah later this year. "Israel is my home," he said. "I especially love Jerusalem."
The 10-day tour included Jerusalem as well as the Galilee, Dead Sea and Negev. At Yad Vashem the young French visitors received a reminder of the horrors suffered by French Jewry less than 60 years ago. The students also participated in Memorial Day services for Israel's fallen soldiers and Independence Day celebrations.
Eighteen year old Yonatan Zerbib, a science student at the University of Toulouse, was in Israel for the second time, having visited with his family last summer. "Israel is so beautiful," he said. "I have really fallen in love with the country. This is where my roots are and that is really magical. I'd like to make aliyah after I graduate."
Credits: Photos by Douglas Guthrie.
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