Netanyahu calls for mass Jewish migration to Israel

Israeli prime minister pushes plan encouraging Jews to "come home" in wake of deadly attack on Copenhagen synagogue.

Aljazeera · JERUSALEM · 16 FEBRUARY 2015 · 23:00 CET

,Netanhayu, Israel

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has called for a "massive immigration" of European Jews to Israel following the shooting outside a Copenhagen synagogue that killed a Danish Jew.

Netanyahu said the government on Sunday will discuss a $46M plan to encourage Jewish immigration from France, Belgium and Ukraine.

"This wave of attacks is expected to continue," Netanyahu said at the start of a cabinet meeting. "Jews deserve security in every country, but we say to our Jewish brothers and sisters, Israel is your home."

In two attacks over the weekend, one man was killed and two police officers wounded at a Copenhagen synagogue, while another man was killed and three police officers wounded in a shooting attack on a cafe in northern Copenhagen.

Denmark's Jewish community identified the victim at the synagogue as 37-year-old Jewish man Dan Uzan, who was guarding a building during a bar mitzvah when he was shot dead at about 1am local time on Sunday morning. 

Jair Melchior, Denmark's chief rabbi, said he was "disappointed" by Netanyahu's call for immigration following the attack.

"Terror is not a reason to move to Israel," he said.

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