BRITISH JEWS COME TO NETANYA

No doubt realizing just how much contempt England has for them, many are immigrating to Israel, their main destination being Netanya:

The numbers of Jews from Great Britain buying property in Israel to be used as vacation/investment homes or as permanent dwellings has risen steadily over the past two years. More young families, as well as retirees and grandparents, are coming to Israel with typical British reserve and no great fanfare.

According to the aliya organization Nefesh B'Nefesh, the number of British olim has almost doubled over the past five years, from 323 in 2002 to 612 in 2006. Of the projected 600 arrivals this year, over 400 are coming though Nefesh B'Nefesh. The Jewish population of Great Britain numbers between 350,000 to 450,000, comprising under 0.25 percent of the total population of the UK.

Just as historians now concur that Revolutionary War hero Paul Revere did not shout the famous phrase "The British are coming!" while on his Midnight Ride, but rather spread the message quietly, the Jews from Great Britain are now calmly sending the message that "This is the time for British Jews to come, buy and live in Israel."

"Israel is the only place for Jews," says Dr. Anthony Daulby, accountant and Manchester city councilor (Conservatives) who will be formally making aliya with his wife Louise when they arrive on a British Airways jet at Ben-Gurion airport on September 24. Currently, they are renting an apartment at the Sea Opera complex in Netanya, where almost all the apartments are owned by Anglo Saxons. The Daulby's are waiting to take possession of their home in the adjacent, second Sea Opera tower when it is completed in 2008.

In Daulby's mind, there are two reasons why this is the best time for Brits to buy in Israel. "The rate of British sterling to the dollar (which apartments are priced in) is very good. One gets good value for money and the investment will increase in value."

Second, in Daulby's words, anti-Semitism in England is as bad as can be. He points out that children attending Jewish schools in Manchester are surrounded by barbed wire, security lights and 24-hour guards. "The children are taught that Hashem wants a Jew's heart to be connected to the Land of Israel, and I believe this is the time to turn desire into reality," he says.

If that's so, that has to be the most horrific place a child could possibly attend school. They're doing the right thing to come here, where they'll find a much more welcome society. England's not making any serious attempt to make living there safer for anyone.