Some 45 percent of high school students who immigrated from the former Soviet Union do not believe they have a future in Israel, according to the preliminary results of a new study due to be published in a few months.
Only 65 percent would define themselves as Israeli, the study found. However, 88 percent would accept a hyphenated definition, such as Israeli-Russian.
The survey, conducted over the past two months by the Forum for Immigrant Parents, covered some 300 students in ninth through 12th grades in communities with sizable Russian populations, such as Ashdod, Ramle and Petah Tikva. The preliminary results were presented to a subcommittee of the Knesset Immigration Committee Thurday.
Some 30 percent of the respondents said Israelis could teach them nothing, while 40 percent saw no need to study Jewish tradition or the Bible. Some 82 percent saw nothing worth learning from in Israeli culture, and 90 percent felt similarly about Israeli behavior.
The study also found that the longer they were in Israel, the more likely the students were to define themselves as mehagrim (migrants) rather than olim (immigrants, but with the connotation of “to a better place”). Thus, after three years here, 68.6 percent defined themselves as olim, while after six years, only 23.6 percent did so.
Some 28 percent did not define themselves as Jewish, and 76.1 percent said that Israel systematically violated the rights of non-Jewish immigrants on issues such as marriage and burial.
This deals more with the Israeli educational system then anything else. Obviously these Russian students – along with other Israeli students – are not being taught the value of Judaism as a unique religion and as a unique nationality and culture. If left wing Israeli thought is followed than Israel is just an unsafe America and then it is no wonder that Russian Jews want to leave.
Keelie #5 right, we do place holds from Leaving country till fines and debts especially government loans are repaid but there are many ways legal and not legal for circumventing these laws. Remember we are dealing with to some extent a Russian criminal element to begin with although not all or most , to be fair but enough. THe whole of Russian culture is to circumvent Government restrictions, Both in the CIS and Here.
Keelie Shalom,
There are many forces working here some even contradictory. The Jewish Agency is an arm of World Zionism ORG. and is an NGO or at worst a QUASI NGO whose primary function is to facilitate the return of Jews from anywhere in the world to Israel/ In many cases this is becoming difficult as most Jews who had a desire to return to Israel have done so already, and except for N. America and France there are no longer large communities of Jews with which to tap into.
The Jewish agency who were the formal precursors of the State of Israel has filled for the most part their function with commitment and dedication. But they constitute a large bureaucracy with thousands of employees and large budgets and when the natural well of potential Olim are are drying up need to justify their existence so they look for anyone with even the remotest of Jewish links. to keep as most large bureaucracies enough successes in their missions context to justify their existence, Much like NATO has done! Now the Framers of the Original Law of return when drawing up the Law in the early years of the State not long after the Holocaust , thought it just to use Hitlers definition of who is a Jew to determine the widest net so in essence almost anyone with any real Jewish familial link within 2 generations could claim entrance to Israel under this Law. It has been modified a few times but has become one of our HOLY COWS AND is almost an untouchable today.
So they went looking advertising all over CIS for anyone with a necessary Jewish Link (a lot forged and manufactured by an oiled Russian mafia) to come to Israel enjoy the financial benefits given then leave for anywhere in the world on an Israeli passport. Most do not want to convert, have little or no loyalty to the state and especially the Jewish people as many if not most are very antisemitic, even Satanist Cults and Neo Nazis, among the youth. They are a violent and and to a large degree a criminal element that we imported to Israel and now don’t know how to deal with the results.
The other theory was that the most secular elitists Jews wanted as many non Religious Jews of almost any stripe to counter the Large growth of the Ultra Religious Haredim who all have very large families, while secular Jews have a near or actual negative birthrate.At same rates the Ultra religious will have numbers parity with the secular here within some say 20 years. The Left are quacking in their shoes over this one. They fear Jews more than Arabs and Hate Jews more than Arabs.
OK Yamit, I gottit!!!
Possible solution. We in Ontario, Canada, cannot renew an (annual) motor vehicle permit (not sure about driver’s licenses) until all traffic fines and other related debts are paid off. Perhaps if the Israeli government were to do a similar thing with passports, this could stop people taking advantage of the generosity of the Israeli government. Difficult (but perhaps not impossible) to pass over the Israeli borders without such a document.
Knowing that this is the case could even perhaps stop people coming in, in the first place.
The Israeli Law of Return allows those claiming a single grandparent as Jewish to qualify under this Law. So we have almost a half million Russians who have and never had an affiliation or knowledge of Jews except antisemitism but took the opportunity to get out of Russian and get many benefits from the Govt. to settle here but in reality hate Israel and Jews. after a year or two many get an Israeli passport and leave the country for Germany Poland, Canada etc. Many have returned too Mother Russia Richer fore threir experience. They sell everything don’t pay off their debts and are long gone! Laura is correct and Keeley I will provide you with a copy below:
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Laws
Laws of Special Interest
Special thanks to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for the translation
The Law of Return 5710 (1950)*
Right of aliyah** 1. Every Jew has the right to come to this country as an oleh**.
Oleh’s visa 2. (a) Aliyah shall be by oleh’s visa.
(b) An oleh’s visa shall be granted to every Jew who has expressed his desire to settle in Israel, unless the Minister of Immigration is satisfied that the applicant
(1) is engaged in an activity directed against the Jewish people; or
(2) is likely to endanger public health or the security of the State.
Oleh’s certificate 3. (a) A Jew who has come to Israel and subsequent to his arrival has expressed his desire to settle in Israel may, while still in Israel, receive an oleh’s certificate.
(b) The restrictions specified in section 2(b) shall apply also to the grant of an oleh’s certificate, but a person shall not be regarded as endangering public health on account of an illness contracted after his arrival in Israel.
Residents and persons born in this country 4. Every Jew who has immigrated into this country before the coming into force of this Law, and every Jew who was born in this country, whether before or after the coming into force of this Law, shall be deemed to be a person who has come to this country as an oleh under this Law.
Implementation and regulations 5. The Minister of Immigration is charged with the implementation of this Law and may make regulations as to any matter relating to such implementation and also as to the grant of oleh’s visas and oleh’s certificates to minors up to the age of 18 years.
DAVID BEN-GURION
Prime Minister
MOSHE SHAPIRA
Minister of Immigration
YOSEF SPRINZAK
Acting President of the State
Chairman of the Knesset
* Passed by the Knesset on the 20th Tammuz, 5710 (5th July, 1950) and published in Sefer Ha-Chukkim No. 51 of the 21st Tammuz, 5710 (5th July. 1950), p. 159; the Bill and an Explanatory Note were published in Hatza’ot Chok No. 48 of the 12th Tammuz, 5710 (27th June, 1950), p. 189.
** Translator’s Note: Aliyah means immigration of Jews, and oleh (plural: olim) means a Jew immigrating, into Israel.
Law of Return (Amendment 5714-1954)*
Amendment of
section 2(b) 1. In section 2 (b) of the Law of Return, 5710-1950** –
(1) the full stop at the end of paragraph (2) shall be replaced by a semi-colon, and the word “or” shall be inserted thereafter ;
(2) the following paragraph shall be inserted after paragraph (2):
“(3) is a person with a criminal past, likely to endanger public welfare.”.
Amendment of sections
2 and 5 2. In sections 2 and 5 of the Law, the words “the Minister of Immigration” shall be replaced by the words “the Minister of the Interior”.
MOSHE SHARETT
Prime Minister
YOSEF SERLIN
Minister of Health
Acting Minister of the Interior
YITZCHAK BEN-ZVI
President of the State
* Passed by the Knesset on the 24th Av, 5714 (23rd August, 1954) and published in Sefer Ha-Chukkim No. 163 of the 3rd Elul, 5714 (1st September, 1954) p. 174; the Bill and an Explanatory Note were published in Hatza’ot Chok No. 192 of 5714, p. 88.
** Sefer Ha-Chukkim No. 51 of 5710, p. 159, LSI vol. IV, 114.
Law of Return (Amendment No. 2) 5730-1970*
Addition of sections 4A
and 4B 1. In the Law of Return, 5710-1950**, the following sections shall be inserted after section 4:
“Rights of members of family
4A. (a) The rights of a Jew under this Law and the rights of an oleh under the Nationality Law, 5712-1952***, as well as the rights of an oleh under any other enactment, are also vested in a child and a grandchild of a Jew, the spouse of a Jew, the spouse of a child of a Jew and the spouse of a grandchild of a Jew, except for a person who has been a Jew and has voluntarily changed his religion.
(b) It shall be immaterial whether or not a Jew by whose right a right under subsection (a) is claimed is still alive and whether or not he has immigrated to Israel.
(c) The restrictions and conditions prescribed in respect of a Jew or an oleh by or under this Law or by the enactments referred to in subsection (a) shall also apply to a person who claims a right under subsection (a).
Definition
4B. For the purposes of this Law, “Jew” means a person who was born of a Jewish mother or has become converted to Judaism and who is not a member of another religion.”
Amendment of section 5 2. In section 5 of the Law of Return, 5710-1950, the following shall be added at the end: “Regulations for the purposes of sections 4A and 4B require the approval of the Constitution, Legislation and Juridical Committee of the Knesset.”.
Amendment of the Population Registry Law, 5725-1965 3. In the Population Registry Law, 5725-1965****, the following section shall be inserted after section 3:
“Power of registration and definition
3A. (a) A person shall not be registered as a Jew by ethnic affiliation or religion if a notification under this Law or another entry in the Registry or a public document indicates that he is not a Jew, so long as the said notification, entry or document has not been controverted to the satisfaction of the Chief Registration Officer or so long as declaratory judgment of a competent court or tribunal has not otherwise determined.
(b) For the purposes of this Law and of any registration or document thereunder, “Jew” has the same meaning as in section 4B of the Law of Return, 5710-1950.
(c) This section shall not derogate from a registration effected before its coming into force.”.
GOLDA MEIR
Prime Minister
Acting Minister of the Interior
SHNEUR ZALMAN SHAZAR
President of the State
Laura… on what do you base your “so-called”? And why are they worse than the “established” Israelis who beat up their own people and throw them out of their homes?
These so-called “Jewish” immigrants from Russia should be kicked out.
Perhaps these people feel that there’s now an established elite in the new kingdom of Israel, one wherein having been there “in the beginning” entitles you to make unquestioned decisions and bully the others into submitting to them… Or do I have it all wrong?
It’s essentially the same mentality that many people known to me have: that converts to Judaism are not on the “same level” as “natural” Jews.
We live in a world of arrogance born of nothing more than vanity.