French Jewish family immigrating to Israel. Photo: The Jewish Agency for Israel

Over 1,000 Jews have left France for Israel since the Paris terror attacks earlier this year, and this wave of French immigration is invigorating the Israeli real estate market, Israeli business publication Globes reports.

The Globes report cites Elior Asherian, a lawyer who has helped a number of them move, and statistics from the Israeli Ministry of Finance showing a rise in home purchases, and mentions the Netanya area, which saw an influx of French immigrants in 2014.

“There are many French Jews in Netanya. In my opinion more than 1,000 French Jews have come to Israel since the Paris attacks,” Asherian said.

Following the terror attacks in France on a kosher supermarket, and the offices of satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called for a mass migration of European Jews to Israel.

Netanyahu’s call for more immigration roiled French President François Hollande, who told French Jews that France was their home.

Notwithstanding Hollande’s call for Jews to remain in France, thousands have already left for Israel, and thousands more may follow.

According to the Globes report, many French Jews with vacation homes in Israel are considering immigrating. Some are even selling their businesses in France in preparation for a move to Israel. By one estimate, 5,000 – 6,000 French Jews are preparing to leave the country. This is in addition to the estimated 7,000 Jews that left France for Israel in 2014.