Israel has devised special methods for meeting the problems faced by immigrants coming into the country from the Soviet Union, an American Jewish Committee report released here today shows. The report, compiled by the Israel Office of the AJ Committee, indicates that one of the main problems stems from the difficulty Russian Jews have in adjusting from a totalitarian state to a free society. The report, listing the everyday irritations that result from this adjustment, notes that problems arise in the social framework, because immigrants from the Soviet Union have been generally accustomed to a social life restricted to the family, while social life in Israel is broader. On the other hand, the survey shows, university-age immigrants confront the problem of their Israeli peers who have “little time for socializing, and the newcomer often finds himself an outsider instead of part of a warm, embracing circle.” The solutions to these problems come with time, the report continues. “For the youth, the problem of integrations resolved once he enters the army, where he finds the comradeship and sense of belonging he seeks. For the older immigrant, things fall into place once he has a job and is assured of economic livelihood.”
Among the special arrangements made by the Israel government for handling Soviet immigrants are: intensive Hebrew instruction for professionals for five months in absorption centers; apartments immediately available for non-professionals, furnished and with the first month’s rent paid; and greater financial allowances for Soviet immigrants than for those coming from the United States. (David Levy, newsman for CBS Radio Network who spent the past two weeks with a group of Soviet Jews who came to Israel, reported today on the CBS News broadcast. “The World of Religion,” that “the striking thing about the new immigrants to Israel is their almost total lack of religious background or even conviction. In fact, saddled as they are with their Soviet upbringing and education, many actually seem to go out of their way to reassure you that they are atheists.” Levy asserted that “a majority of them is definitely far more Soviet than Jewish.” Despite this, Levy added, “the ex-Soviet Jews are for the most part intensely loyal to their new country.”)
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The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
