Israel denied reports that it is secretly working to bring in Jews from Germany.
Yoram Ben-Zeev, Israel’s new ambassador to Berlin, at a news conference Wednesday addressed German media reports that Nativ, an Israeli government agency, has been quietly encouraging aliyah by Jews who came to Germany from the former Soviet Union.
“The main purpose of Nativ is to bring to those communities a sense of the Jewish culture, the Israeli culture and to help with education,” Ben-Zeev said. “The agenda is not to become movers of the communities to Israel.”
But the ambassador also stressed that Jews anywhere are “more than welcome” to immigrate to Israel.
Given its Holocaust history, Germany has been careful to cultivate its Jewish community and is sensitive to any indication that its members are unhappy and want to leave.
