The fear of Jeremy Corbyn becoming prime minister drove interest in a series of meeting the Jewish Agency facilitated about making Aliyah, it has been revealed.
Lea Golan, the Jewish Agency’s executive director and Simon Monk, a private banker who emigrated from the UK to Israel 25 years ago, coordinated the four informal meetings in North London last week.
Around140 people, all aged between 50 and 80, attended gatherings in private homes in Edgware and Hampstead, and one at Stanmore and Canons Park Synagogue in North West London.
While they both stressed that the prospect of a Labour government was not the primary factor, Mr Monk told the JC it had “enhanced interest, awareness and planning”.
He added: “In every meeting I have had in London, [Labour] is mentioned, but it wasn’t like people were panicking. People are not fleeing… Maybe it has advanced their planning.
“It has increased the number of people interested. People are taking the next steps. But this is not a situation like Russia or Venezuela where they just want to get out, thank God.”
Ms Golan added: “It was a very effective way of reaching out to people who were thinking about [making Aliyah] anyway. Obviously the people coming to such meetings already have connections to Israel – such as family.
“In my experience, of working in Aliyah for many years, there is never just one reason why people make Aliyah. It never works like this unless, God forbid, in a rescue operation. And this is not that scenario.”
The number of Britons making Aliyah ranges between roughly 500 and 850 per year – although the period between January and November this year saw an 11 per cent rise.
On the financial side, Mr Monk said that the abolition of inheritance tax in Israel was “a factor”, but added that the relative weakness of the pound to the shekel is an obstacle to prospective olim – particularly older ones.
He said: “When I made Aliyah in the mid-1990s, it was 8.7 shekels to the pound. Now it is 4.50 – a huge, huge drop.
“That’s mainly down to the strength of the Israeli economy. The UK’s economic situation is also a concern.”
