Only two months have passed since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and since the beginning of the wave of immigration that has reached Israel from both countries, and there are already some who are trying to pass the immigrants tests of loyalty. The ugly Israeli raised his head. With each wave of ascent we seek to learn from the mistakes made in the face of previous ascents, and each time we realize that we have learned nothing.
Zvika Klein’s article revealed some unfamiliarity with Russian Jewry and its characteristics. About 600,000 eligible immigrants are in Russia. It is understandable to any sane Jew in Russia today that the days when it was good for Jews to live in Russia – are over. Blocking access to most social networks, draconian laws that put a person in jail following any opposition to war in particular (in Russia it should not even be called a war, just an “operation”) or government actions in general, the endless Pike News and the constant striving to rewrite history – make everyone realize On the wrong side – and the Jews will be the scapegoat again.
Many Jews understand that there is no future in Russia, neither for them nor for their children. But unlike Ukrainian Jewry fleeing for its life from the front, Russian Jewry, and rightly so, is trying to save an animal enterprise. Many Jews living in Russia are part of the middle class and above: businessmen, entrepreneurs, company owners. They are invested in Russia economically and real estate.
But the outbreak of hostilities their bank accounts are virtually frozen: dollars can not be spent and very limited amounts can be spent in rubles. It is not possible to sell apartments at the moment. If those same Jews now leave forever for Israel, or in the same sense for any other country, they are actually leaving with nothing. Like 90s immigrants who came with $ 100 per person, they are doomed to start their lives anew, destitute. How surprising to find – that many do not want to do it. Therefore, some of them come to Israel, issue an Israeli passport and return to Russia to bring in more cash, try to sell more property, continue to run their business that currently yields them the only income they have.
Moreover, when I read the headline that “a third of the immigrants returned to Russia,” I wondered if I was confused and in fact this was the Soviet Union, where citizens were forbidden to go to other countries. Are we not in 2022 when the borders of countries are open, and a person can move in them freely? Does the State of Israel expect a great new immigration to Israel and a prison within its borders? What period of time will be considered reasonable to leave the country? sleep? five years? Maybe like our parents for at least a decade, until they officially left the status of “poor” and it would be okay for them to fly abroad once every few years? Say, are we crazy?
By the way, has anyone ever checked how many Israeli citizens, even immigrants not us, are at any given time in countries like the United States? European countries? Have you ever checked how many immigrants from aliyah from France, for example, continued to work on the Israel-France route on frequent flights, and rightly so, in order to continue earning a decent living? God forbid. Racism of this kind is reserved only for people from the former Soviet Union.
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And suppose some of those immigrants who are now in Russia, have really decided not to decide yet. They issue an Israeli passport so that when the situation in Russia reaches the red line for them, for example, if a new iron curtain falls on Russia and citizens who are not citizens of another country are not allowed to leave, they can easily reach Israel. Is it a crime? Is this a sign of infidelity? Has not the State of Israel been established to be the state of the Jewish people and to allow every Jew in time of need to find refuge in it? If the Russian dictator who is escalating his internal and external moves is not considered a “time of trouble” then I do not know what is.
But the author of the article sought to ignore all of this and insist on creating a split, a semblance of “good immigrants” and “bad immigrants.” After all, the immigrants from Russia did not just return to Russia, they “returned to Putin’s arms” – with the Israeli passport and of course the money envelopes they received. Let alone that this is a grant at a height that barely covers a few days of reasonable living. If only he understood how dangerous this move is in the current social sphere, in which Jews of Russian descent are perceived in Israel and elsewhere in the world as “bad,” as collaborators with Putin, simply because they came from Russia or speak Russian.
As Israelis, we have a great responsibility in connecting the new immigrants who come from Ukraine and Russia, two countries that are at war, with each other and with Israeli society. It is a circle of fire – which begins and ends with the power of the tongue. Just as in the 1990s immigration from the Soviet Union was an increase of “prostitutes and alcoholics,” now they want to brand immigration from Russia as an increase of “exploiters and opportunists.” Words create a reality on the ground, and unfortunately the only reality that these words have created is that of an Israeli company that will not open its gates to immigrants from Russia.
Following the data, the Minister of Immigration and Absorption announced that it was taking away from the immigrants from Russia some of the rights they had received. The article also does considerable damage to the aliyah effort, which is already being conducted behind the scenes quietly, so as not to create diplomatic crises with Russia. Who would want to go to a country that does not want to accept you? We are no longer in the 90s. Academic immigrants that Israel will not open its door to – will not stay. The United States or Canada will be happy to embrace them. And who will lose? we.
Instead of blackening the aliyah, let us concentrate mainly on investing all our efforts in the good absorption of those immigrants. In finding housing near suitable jobs. In fast and effective learning of languages: both Hebrew and English, required in many workplaces. In finding a job for them that matches their education and profession, because unlike the 90s, engineers and doctors will not work in security and cleaning – they will simply move to the United States.
Alex Riff, CEO of the Million Lobby, a public lobby that promotes the needs of Russian-speaking Israelis in front of decision-makers