Israel Matzav

Israel France to 'transfer' Arab Muslims

For those who think that it would be impossible for Israel to encourage Arab Muslims to leave voluntarily - what the late Rabbi Meir Kahane HY"D would call 'transfer' - the experience of France may be instructive.

The German paper Der Spiegel is reporting today that French President Nicolas Sarcozy wants to pay 'immigrants' - which in France's case means Arab Muslims - to leave France and return to their home countries. (Hat Tip: Eye on the World)

France is home to over 5 million immigrants -- and the new conservative-led government doesn't plan on making things any more comfortable for them. While the new regime in Paris is determined to curb illegal immigration, it is also looking to encourage legal migrants to reconsider their decision to stay in France -- by paying them to go back home.

New immigration minister, Brice Hortefeux, confirmed on Wednesday that the government is planning to offer incentives to more immigrants to return home voluntarily. "We must increase this measure to help voluntary return. I am very clearly committed to doing that," Hortefeux said in an interview with RFI radio.

Under the scheme, Paris will provide each family with a nest egg of €6,000 ($8,000) for when they go back to their country of origin. A similar scheme, which was introduced in 2005 and 2006, was taken up by around 3,000 families.

Hortefeux, who heads up the new "super-ministery" of immigration, integration, national identity and co-development, said he wants to pursue a "firm but humane" immigration policy.

...

France is home to an estimated 1.5 million immigrants from mostly Muslim North Africa and 500,000 from sub-Saharan Africa, according to the 2004 census.

Now, who says 'transfer' can't work here?

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 2:29 AM