London Becomes a Leading Destination for French Jews After Attacks

The Western Marble Arch Synagogue has begun offering services to Sephardic Jews, many of whom are French. Sephardic Jews are descendants of Jews from Spain, Portugal, the Middle East and North Africa, like Mr. Nakache, who is of Tunisian and Algerian origin. Most British Jews are Ashkenazi, whose ancestors were mainly German and Eastern European. Although prayer services are done in Hebrew for either group, there are differences.

"We want to provide a service the French are familiar with," said the synagogue's chief rabbi, Sam Taylor, adding that their numbers have grown "significantly." About 20 percent of the synagogue's 700-member congregation is French, he said, and they now make up the largest minority group. His synagogue also recently began offering Bible class es in French.

The Anshei Shalom Synagogue in St. John's Wood, a Sephardic synagogue, opened 13 years ago with very few French Jews. Today, 70 percent of the 160-member congregation is French, said Chief Rabbi Mordechai Fhima, who is also French. Mr. Fhima now gives several lectures in French during the week and invites rabbis from France to speak to the congregation.

At the nearby St. John's Wood Synagogue, Chief Rabbi Dayan Ivan Binstock said that social events were now increasingly a mix of Ashkenazi and Sephardic Jews because of the growing French crowd.

"I'm increasingly starting my sermons in French," he said.

Franc e is forbidden by law to collect statistics based on race or ethnic origin, so the exact number of French Jews in Britain is unknown. But Marc Meyer, the director of the Conference of European Rabbis, estimates that about 25,000 of them live in London, out of about 500,000 French citizens. In some Jewish schools, he said, the number of French children has risen by as much as 60 percent over the past year.

Photo Kevin Nakache is one of about 5,000 French Jews thought to have moved to Britain over the past two years as France grapples with the radicalization of young Muslims and a rise in anti-Semitism. Credit Andrew Testa for The New York Times

French Jews are also moving to Israel, the United States, Canada, Australia and elsewhere in Europe like Belgium and Luxembourg. Mr. Nakache's sister lives in New York, he said, and at least 20 of his Jewish friends have also left Marseille.

An official at the Paris-based Jewish Consistory of France, a body that oversees all Jewish congregations in the country, said that at least 4,000 families left France in 2015 alone. "We are deluged with calls," said the employee, who asked not to be named because the issue is sensitive. "These families are afraid for their children," she added.

Global jihadists, the rise of far-right groups, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and conspiracy theories found on the Internet have all made French Jews choice targets. "The level of violence committed against Jews in France is increasingly deadly," said Michel Wieviorka, the director of France's School for Advanced Studies in the Social Sciences.

A more virulent strain of anti-Semitism is emerging in some areas of French society that are often poor and have large Muslim populations, Mr. Wieviorka said. "The blurring of lines between Islam and Palestine has become the heart of anti-Semitism." Others, however, emphasize that to be pro-Palestinian does not mean to be anti-Semitic.

Then there is the rise of far-right groups like the National Front, whose former leader Jean-Marie Le Pen denied the Holocaust. Although the current leader, his daughter, has rejected those views, French Jews say they are unconvinced.

In London, French Jews who were interviewed said they felt safe even though the number of anti-Semitic attacks in Britain is slightly higher than in France. For one, they are harassed less for wearing skullcaps, they said.

Ilan Tall, who left Marseille in July, said that wearing a skullcap there "is dangerous," adding that he wore his under a baseball cap for years. After the machete attack on a rabbi by an Islamic State supporter in January, the main Jewish leader in Marseille advised Jews to stop wearing skullcaps.

Olivier Gozlan said he was taken aback when colleagues in London encouraged him to wear a skullcap at work, something that is rare in France. Minorities appear to be better integrated in Britain, he said, because Britain emphasizes multiculturalism, unlike assimilation in France. Britain also has a more diverse Muslim population than France, where most Muslims are from North Africa.

Thousands of surveillance cameras placed in almost every nook and cranny of Britain also help. "If you get attacked, at least everything's recorded," Mr. Nakache said.

Simon Tobelem, a French venture capitalist in London, said he appreciated the French government's efforts to protect Jews, including posting soldiers outside schools in the wake of the terrorist attacks. Still, "in spite of everything, there is a pervasive feeling that we're no longer welcome in France," he said.

French Jews from Paris say they miss the lifestyle there — there are far more kosher restaurants there than in London, at least two Jewish radio stations, and lots of synagogues.

But most of them said they do not plan to return home: They will either settle in Britain or move elsewhere, just not France. "My culture is French, and I'll defend it to my death," Mr. Tobelem said . "But is France my homeland anymore? No."

Mr. Nakache agreed. "Too bad if France loses all of its Jews."

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Source: London Becomes a Leading Destination for French Jews After Attacks