The number of people attending an annual Paris event focused on aliyah fell by more than half. About 2,000 people attended Sunday’s Aliyah Day, an event put together by the Jewish Agency for Israel, compared to 4,500 a year ago. January is a big shopping month in Paris, and unlike last year, this year’s event was held far away from stores. “It is true that only half the number of people came this year compared to 2005, but we consider that a pre-selection process has already been made concerning the seriousness of the intentions,” said event director David Roche. In early 2005, many people were fearful of anti-Semitic violence coming essentially from North African youth, especially in suburbs of Paris. Aliyah Day this year came after a wave of Muslim rioting in November, but Jews were not targeted.
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