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Recently I've been thinking different Jewish populations in various countries of the world, and to be very blunt, there are some Jewish populations that I think are doomed.

Two particular countries that come to mind are Russia and France. Both have unbelievably high levels of antisemitism. In France, the antisemites are actually (by far) a minority, but those who are antisemitic are such Jew-haters that many French Jews have now begun to make aliyah (primarily to Netanya and Tel Aviv) out of fear. In Russia it's a little bit calmer, but most people (more than 50% of the population) don't like Jews and in general there is little done to prevent neo-Nazism.

Given that, I've gotta wonder why some French and Russian Jews bother staying where they are - do they reallly think that there's any future for them? Do French Jews not care that in the 2002 election, 18% of the voters voted for a fachist/racist/Nazi? Do they not find it extreme that their children have to wear baseball caps to cover up their kippot, because they risk getting beat up in the subway otherwise? Do they not see the French government's indifference to the situation?

And what about those Russian Jews? If you want my honest opinion, I think that Jews who have remained in Russia are even stupider than French Jews who remain in France. Take it from me - I was born in Moscow and have visited several times since. Not only is the country unbelievably poor, there is absolutely no future for Jews there. None. A person with a particularly warm attitiude towards Judaism is considered something of a freak there. Just last year, some people in the Russian government nearly managed to ban all Jewish literature (they were only stopped after international outcry).

Nu? crying

Speaking of Europe...there is a large anti-semetic presence in all of europe, its just many europeans try to just ignore it...

the ole "if I dont see it, it doesnt exist" type thing...pathetic...

thats one reason I am never going to europe

I don't know but supposedly my great-great grandmother got the hell out of France in the later half of the 19th century, and good for her.

Excuse me for being so blunt, but don't you live in USA?
It's easy to tell other people to be brave and just face it, but it isn't as easy if you're at that same position. I don't think anyone should live like that when they have another choice, and it's selfish to expect people to live like that for one's own ideals.

Perhaps they don't want us, but they need us. Where would the world be today without Jews?

Tell that to Einstein. Or Freud.... Or any other Jew on the laundry list of names that made Western science, math, culture, etc what it is today. 3nodding

So you compare not being liked to being violently murdered.
You have no idea what Jews in France and Russia go through. They don't just face "not being liked and seeing Nazi signs". They face actual violence. Saying they should keep on fighting is just plain pretention until you spend a day in their shoes. I'm sorry.

I'm not saying everyone should just give the hell up. But if you were a person living with your wife and kids there and they can't go out in the streets, maybe it's not the right thing for you to stay. And frankly, some places are better than others and some peoples are easier to get along with. It sounds like a mean thing to say, but if you're surrounded by those people you're facing a problem that's not going to be solved in the next couple of generations. Europe has a history of too much anti-Semitism for it to be solved overnight, and no one should be a human shield to the rest of the world jewelry.

Anyway, if we were to "fix" things, it's the governments and police forces we ought to turn to. I don't give the Russian government much credit, but the French can do a little better than that.