The distorted view Israelis seem to have of European Jewry, and diaspora life, has become alarming. While Hamas rockets fly over their heads, Israelis seem almost obsessed by the idea that European Jews are facing annihilation.
This came to the fore last month following the Paris terror attacks. In Israel, terror attacks are almost routine, and citizens take pride in their stoicism and defiance. But a rare attack on Parisian Jews was taken as a signal that Jewish life in France was over. The Israeli Prime Minister told French Jewry that they had a home in Israel, implying it was time to pack up and leave. Although just 1 per cent of French Jewry made aliyah last year, Israelis are apparently expecting a flood of refugees.
They don't seem to think much more of British Jewry's future. I have lost count of how many Israelis have asked me about "the antisemitism" that apparently dominates our lives here, and implored me to make aliyah before it's "too late". Comparisons to the 1930s are rife. This summer, I could only laugh as an Israeli relative phoned repeatedly from her bomb shelter to make sure that we were safe from "the antisemites".
Meanwhile, dubious surveys seeking to show Brits are antisemites and the "Liberate Stamford Hill" march against "Jewification" are reported in detail in Israel; there is little in-depth coverage of other diaspora Jewry issues. The million Israelis abroad rarely integrate with the local Jewish communities and Israelis understand little about daily reality in the diaspora.
