The special resettlement problems of the Jews of Rumania coming from the ranks of that country’s intellectuals and professionals were vividly outlined here today in discussions with a group of some 200 such experts.
They discussed their problems with a group of visiting American radio and newspaper correspondents, and reported a general belief that the exodus from Rumania was motivated by economic reasons–and apparently has the approval of the Soviet Union.
Apparently much more happy with their new homeland and much less demanding than similar, earlier emigrants from Poland, these professionals are taking intensive Ulpan courses to learn Hebrew quickly as the essential first step toward resuming their professional careers in Israel. They include doctors, lawyers, engineers, accountants, civil servants and similar highly educated types. In age they range from 35 to 60 years and over.
Their families are supported by the Jewish Agency on loans repayable after they obtain employment. The professionals live free in dormitories while studying Hebrew eight hours a day. Free from the worries of making a living during the immediate post-arrival period, they represent part of a total of more than 2,000 similar immigrants in such intensive Hebrew study in the Ulpan courses.
Virtually all of them, regardless of their age, are convinced that, as soon as they know Hebrew, they will become self-supporting quickly. Speaking with love of Israel, they express determination to adjust themselves speedily to life in Israel.
The obstacles the professionals face are best illustrated in tie problem presented by the large number of doctors coming in the Rumanian influx. Israel now has 4,000 physicians, a ratio of one to 500 inhabitants, the highest in the world. Moreover, Israel has more opportunities for general practitioners than for the specialists arriving from Rumania.
Nevertheless, vigorous efforts are underway to assure that incoming doctors will be able to resume their profession. The Federation of Physicians Union at a meeting in Tel Aviv last night urged the doctors in Kupat Holim, the health service sponsored by the Histadrut, to forego overtime work and to make place for about 100 immigrant physicians.
Delegates at the meeting were told that the Histadrut was ready to share in the budget needed to absorb newcomers in the Kupat Holim. It was estimated at the meeting that employment for 200 immigrant doctors could be found by extending public health services, that 100 could find positions in preventive medicine and sanitation, and another 150 could find self-employment in private practice.
Meanwhile, physicians from the East European immigration are being sent to hospitals for two to 24 weeks to learn modern medical procedures as used in Israel, and are thus becoming general practitioners.
Israel’s industrial expansion makes the problem of absorbing engineers a much simpler one. Lawyers begin their rehabilitation by preparing to pass new examinations.
Authorities estimated that such professionals constitute 14 percent of the current immigration, a percentage expected to rise.
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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.
