Changing Times

Former Soviet Jewry in Israel and Abroad

John Kenneth Galbraith, the renowned economist, once said, "In the choice between changing one’s mind and proving there's no need to do so, most people get busy on the proof." Immigration and Absorption Department staff diligently avoid that trap, devoting their energies to continually rethinking and revamping policies and approaches.

Young FSU immigrants on study programs.

The fabric of Jewish life in the Former Soviet Union has changed drastically over the past decade, requiring innovation in aliyah promotion. Absorption in Israel must be continually reworked according to the varying populations, while the creation of a Russian Jewish Diaspora in the West adds yet another dimension to the Department's work.

In the Former Soviet Union

Freedom of religious and ethnic expression, untenable until the fall of the Soviet regime, has transformed Jewish life in the FSU. While not on the scale of the West, many large towns boast community centers, and Jewish educational programs. Many FSU Jews have family or friends amongst the nearly one million of their compatriots who immigrated to Israel, cementing the State's centrality to Jewish life. Karol Ungar, Director of the Immigration and Absorption Department's Eastern Aliyah Division, recounts some of the many ways in which Department emissaries keep Israel and Jewish identity part of the agenda for the millions of Jews remaining in the former Soviet Republics.

"Most of our immigrants now are from smaller towns where the economic recovery has not been strong. Keeping these far-flung localities in the loop requires complex logistics and extra footwork. Aliyah and publication coordinators function as the eyes and arms of the 23 emissaries in the FSU, and this network needs constant replenishment - publications, videos, digital presentations, seminars and workshops. Joint projects with the Jewish Agency's Education Department include Aliyah Days in youth camps and seminars. Olim Baderech (Immigrants on The Way) is a new seminar providing a week of Jewish and Israel programming for ulpan students in the FSU who want to learn more about Israel."

In Israel

Mike Rosenberg, Director-General of the Immigration and Absorption Department : "As we look ahead, we can do so with real optimism due to several notable developments which took place in 2003. One of the most outstanding has been the work of the Immigration and Absorption Strategic Taskforce which is currently preparing the groundwork for the development of a long-term strategic program designed to bring about a turnaround in the rate of aliyah. The Ministry of Absorption, the National Security Council, and the Jewish Agency Jewish-Zionist Education Department have all become full working partners with us in the Taskforce, constituting a major step forward."

Whereas, there was a thirty-four percent drop in overall immigration from the FSU in 2003, the number of immigrants choosing to make aliyah through young adult study programs has decreased by only fifteen percent. Alex Mershon, Deputy Director of the Eastern Aliyah Division , explains, "This is an idealistic aliyah. These youngsters are less concerned by Israel's economic and security troubles than their parents. They want a place to call home. The rapidity with which they learn Hebrew and identify themselves as Israelis proves this point." Selah (Students before Parents), Kibbutz Ulpan, and the Na'aleh high school program boast over 15,000 recent graduates in Israel.

Oleg Dobkin, formerly a Selah counselor, is coordinating the Graduates Project . "Our first job is to discern the needs of our graduates. This is a highly motivated and quality population whom, with some guidance and assistance, will soon be a very productive and integral part of Israeli society," reflects Oleg. "Over the years, we have seen an increasing percentage of our program graduates who go directly to their IDF service and defer their university studies. They view the IDF as the ideal melting pot where there they can share the experience of their Israeli peers and perfect their language skills."

Choosing between the army and higher education, or choosing a specific university track are critical decisions. "That is where we come in," says Oleg. The Graduates Project organizes day-long seminars and on-going counseling for program participants on the ins-and-outs of the IDF and university study.

And for those being discharged? "In 2004, over six hundred of our program graduates will be discharged from the IDF. The majority of these young men and women are serving in frontline units, giving the best years of their lives to the country. While doing so, they are enveloped by an all-encompassing framework. Now they will change into civilian clothes and have to fend for themselves, usually without family, and with very little money." A highly successful week-long pilot project for soldiers before discharge was recently held at the Ibim Student Village. The seminar touched on everything from job interviews to searching for apartments on the internet, to body language and in-depth surveys on the universities.

Employment in Israel

Expediting the absorption of skilled professionals through viable employment re-training, Aliyah 2000 remains a mainstay of the Department's offerings. However, in cadence with a changing economy, Aliyah 2000 programs are continually modified and upgraded. Presently, FSU immigrants are studying to qualify in Israel as auto mechanics, air conditioner technicians, technical engineers and nurses. With a 90 percent employment rate for graduates, these immigrants will soon be productive Israeli citizens.

In the Russian Jewish Diaspora

With a boost from 100,000 Former Soviet Jews over the past fifteen years, Germany now has the third largest Jewish population in Europe. "In Germany, Austria, North America and Australia," explains Shulamit Hulin, Head of the Russian-language Section in the Department's Publications and Information Unit , "we have a demand for an entirely new kind of publication," - English/ Russian or German/Russian. "Enclaves of Russian-speaking Jews in the West are becoming more and more responsive to our overtures," says Akiva Werber, Director of the Department of Immigration and Absorption's Division for English-speaking Countries. "At the many Israel fairs and workshops in Germany and North America, our bi-lingual pamphlets are quickly snatched up."

"The enthusiastic response led us to inaugurate the first year of the Elite Academy in Israel's Mossenson High School. It is now home to a group of Russian-speaking American Jews who began studies towards their Israeli matriculation. This program's small but auspicious beginnings are the fruit of much "creative brainstorming, honest appraisals and serious fieldwork," reports Akiva. "Just as our great-grandparents sojourns were determined through twists of fate, these youngsters took a winding path to Israel, encouraged and assured by our Russian-speaking emissary in New York, Ronni Vinikoff ."

As circumstances evolve, Immigration and Absorption Department staff review, create and implement new approaches and programs to best promote aliyah and streamline absorption.