A Wave of Jews Returning to Russia

[Classical_Liberal]

Dzhadan is part of a tide of emigrants who have returned to Russia from Israel over a litany of concerns: the second intifada, Israel's worsening economy, an inability to adapt to cultural and social realities. According to a study released this March, at least 50,000 emigrants returned from Israel from 2001 to 2003.

The exodus has stirred up a discussion in Israel, said Boruch Gorin, head of the public relations department at the Russian Federation of Jewish Communities, which commissioned the study. On the one hand, millions of Jews already live outside Israel. On the other hand, "living in Israel is an ideology, and tthat the people who sought a shelter in the country have been leaving is a blow to the ideology," he said.

Israel had two waves of Russian immigration that altogether boosted its population from 5 million to 6 million, according to Gorin. In the first wave, 200,000 Jews left the Soviet Union in the 1970s. The second wave, which coincided with perestroika in 1986, brought 800,000 more Soviet Jews.

Under the Law of Return, anyone having at least one Jewish grandparent may seek citizenship.

Recently, however, Israel has seen its population growth subside, with citizens leaving not only for Russia, but also Europe and the United States. Only 20,000 to 30,000 immigrants entered Israel from 2001 to 2003, which was for the first time less than the outflow, Gorin said, citing the study.

http://www.fjc.ru/news/newsArticle.asp?AID=158514

[physioex]

1. No wonder Sharon was on his hands and knees to the French Jews...

Give em a crappy lifestlyle with no security and they are outta there...

[Hoping4Change]

2. Who would blame them. They escaped one ideology only to be

confronted by another cruddy ideology. Having to tolerate religious zealots is hell not to mention that the uber Jewish zealots, the Orthodox are exempt from army service and live on the dole as they are devoted to the Torah. No wonder Sharon advised French Jews to leave France for Israel.

[Gimel]

5. New Immigrants from the US

About 500 arrived on Wednesday. More groups from France and the US will arrive this year.

[cantwealljustgetalong]

3. Russia Struggles to Contain Hate Crimes...

Moscow (CNSNews.com) - A series of violent attacks and incidents with an apparent racist motive has added to Russia's reputation as a country where xenophobia is unchecked and on the rise.

Last week, Siberia's oldest synagogue was destroyed in a fire. Authorities investigating the fire at the 125-year-old Irkutsk synagogue and adjoining community center have so far ruled out arson, but the incident has contributed to concerns about anti-Semitic sentiment. Around 10,000 of Irkutsk's 675,000 people are Jewish.
Earlier in July, vandals painted swastikas and anti-Jewish slogans on the walls of a Jewish community center in Russia's internal republic of Mari-El. The building had been targeted before.

The most serious recent incident occurred last June, when a prominent expert on Russian minorities issues, Nikolai Girenko, was shot dead in his St. Petersburg home.

Police suspect neo-Nazis were behind the killing.

...

According to the Moscow Human Rights Bureau, between 2002 and 2004 the number of skinheads in Russia has risen from 30,000 to 50,000. The office predicts that number could double in the next two years.

...

Despite repeated official pledges to crack down, Russia is struggling to contain racial violence. Many non-Russian migrants from former Soviet states do not feel safe, having fallen prey to violent incidents.
Some attacks also have an economically motivation. Many market stalls in Moscow and other centers are run by traders from neighboring states such as Azerbaijan and Georgia and they are often targeted for attack.
Victims often complain that some police officers are themselves racist and that random document checks, detentions and even beatings of migrants are commonplace.

Authorities point out, however, that measures like document checks are needed amid the recent increase in terrorist attacks in Russia.

...

http://www.cnsnews.com//ViewForeignBureaus.asp?Page=\ForeignBureaus\archive\200408\FOR20040805c.html

[Krasnaya Lastochka]

13. these people give all Russians a bad name

Those skinheads who claim to be fighting for "Russia for Russians" and all that Nazi crap really have no right to call THEMSELVES Russians. They give all good, peace-loving and tolerant ordinary Russian people a bad reputation.

P.S. Everyone needs to read the poem "Babi Yar" by Yevgeny Yevtushenko...it's a true Great Poem and one of the greatest works of the 20th century

[Gimel]

4. Economics

The major reason is the economic recession. Jobs are scarce and there is not enough of a safety net in social services.

[Hoping4Change]

6. Where is your source of information to conclude ithe exodus is

due mostly to the economy?

[Lithos]

7. The article at the top mentions it

Plus I've read this in several other articles. The Israeli economy has started deflating in the past couple of years which means that there is little opportunity for people and that unemployment or under-employment is fairly common.

Many from the Soviet Union left originally due to the poor economy there and the threat of chaos over the breakup. But lately the economy in Russia has been doing better and the security issues have lessened (despite Chechnya) so that things are looking better for ex-pats from Russia to return than stay in Israel.

[Hoping4Change]

8. The article says "a litany of concerns" in fact one person high-

lighted in the article had an excellent job in Israel


"Dzhadan, 40, did not lose his job, he had to face military service.
The 23-day conscriptions caused Dzhadan to lose his salary at work, and state compensation was hard to receive, he said, due to a tangled bureaucracy.

Another reason for returning was what Dzhadan called the "sectarian" structure of the society. In order to rent an apartment or find a job, a person has to operate through members of his party or immigrants from the same country or area.

"I didn't like it," he said. "I'm used to operating in an open society where people don't ask you to what community you belong."

Also, immigrants from Russia largely lacked a Jewish identity,they longed for the Russian culture


Dzhadan said he plans to visit friends in Israel, but would never return there for good because he belongs to Russian "civilization."

[Lithos]

9. Dzhadan is only one person

Dzhadan is only one person, however, his excellent job was overshadowed by his continual need to serve his military obligation - often with issues to receive compensation.

But he is only one person, the article also mentioned the underemployment by educated professionals who have to take blue-collar jobs. In addition the article cites the return of 50,000 other members mostly for economic reasons.

This article mentions many other individual stories and gives more specific statistics and details.

http://www.detnews.com/2004/nation/0404/25/a08-132905.htm

[Hoping4Change]

10. It is a distortion to say its mainly about the economy,

The London Telegraph ran a similiar story again A Litany of reasons


"I feel betrayed," said Hila, 37, whose husband, Dror, is also 37. "I don't want to raise my children in such a brutal society... My grandparents had such high ideals. What has become of Israel makes me so sad and bitter."




http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2003/11/30/wmid30.xml&sSheet=/portal/2003/11/30/ixportal.html

[Lithos]

11. Agreed

Never said it was all about the economy, and have always said it was a mixture of security, opportunity and economy. Some people also have issue with the extreme stratification of society between the secular and non-secular segements.

L-

[Gimel]

12. The current conflict

True, the violence of the conflict in the past three years has affected many. However, that has also affected the economy. Some people have trouble adjusting because of the language. Not being able to read, write and type fluently in Hebrew affects job prospects. It has a cascading and underlying principle, that of the economics. Those of my own acquaintance went back simply because of the lack of jobs and issues around job seeking.