Herzog: Get ready for mass aliya from US due to antisemitism

Israeli policies don’t impact hatred of Jews, says Liberman

Opposition leader Isaac Herzog called on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to get Israel ready in case of a massive immigration from the US due to ongoing incidents of antisemitism.

Speaking to his Zionist Union faction on Monday, Herzog expressed outrage over cemeteries that have been vandalized in Missouri and Pennsylvania, and said the Israeli government needs to take immediate action.

“I want to express my shock and strong condemnation for the outbreak of incidents of antisemitism in the United States, France and other places around the world,” Herzog said. “I call upon the government of Israel to urgently prepare a national emergency plan for the possibility that we will see waves of immigration of our brothers to Israel.”

Herzog said he was convinced US President Donald Trump’s administration would do everything possible to stop such incidents. But other MKs said they saw Herzog’s statement as an attack on the president, who was initially reluctant to condemn rising antisemitism.

When Trump was asked about the frequency of antisemitic incidents since his election during a joint press conference with Netanyahu, he spoke about his Jewish grandchildren, and the prime minister defended him.

“I’ve known the president

and I’ve known his family and his team for a long time, and there is no greater supporter of the Jewish people and the Jewish state than President Donald Trump,” Netanyahu said. “I think we should put that to rest.”

Herzog’s associates stressed that he was not calling upon American Jews to make aliya due to the incidents.

Officials working in the field of aliya said they were not aware of any expected “waves.”

Jewish Agency spokesman Avi Mayer responded to Herzog’s comments, saying: “As Abba Eban once said, quoting Niels Bohr, prediction is very difficult, especially when it’s about the future. Neither our data nor our field professionals indicate an impending wave of aliya from the United States.”

Yael Katsman, director of communications at Nefesh B’Nefesh, echoed this statement. “We have been experiencing natural growth with regard to aliya interest and as such have not identified any unexpected spikes,” she told The Jerusalem Post. “Our organizational model is equipped to service all those interested in making aliya.”

Diaspora Affairs Minister Naftali Bennett said he trusts that the American government will take care of the problem.

“They are responsible for the security of their citizens,” Bennett said. “I know the president, his administration and Congress care deeply about American Jews and will ensure their welfare.”

Former ambassador to the US and current Deputy Minister for Diplomacy Michael Oren (Kulanu) said Herzog’s statement reveals a fundamental misunderstanding of American Jewry.

“As the nation-state of the Jewish people, we of course welcome Jews from around the world, but a strong American-Jewish community is a paramount interest of Israel,” Oren said.

Likud MK Yehudah Glick, who like Oren was born in the US, called Herzog’s statement irresponsible and said he hoped American Jews would move to Israel for positive reasons, not anti-Semitism.

When Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman was asked about the incidents in the US at his Yisrael Beytenu faction meeting Monday, he said there was no connection between antisemitism around the world and the policies of the Israeli government.

Deputy Foreign Minister Tzipi Hotovely sharply condemned the wave of antisemitic attacks in the US.

“There is no connection between the Trump administration, which is friendly to Israel, and the moral obligation of Israel to wage the struggle against the phenomenon of antisemitism that is breaking out anew in Europe and the US,” she said.

Hotovely’s comments came at a meeting she held in Jerusalem on Monday with Ambassador to the US Ron Dermer and the heads of Israel’s consulates throughout North America. The meeting dealt with Israel’s diplomatic agenda regarding the US and Canada, and one of the topics of discussion was about what steps need to be taken to wipe out the wave of antisemitism in the US.

Hotovely spoke of Israel’s need to build bridges with the Jewish community in the US during this period of deep political divisions there. “It is important that the political issues do not lead to distance between us and our friends in the Democratic Party and among Jews in the US who describe themselves as progressive,” she said.

Tamara Zieve and Herb Keinon contributed to this report. •