Somebody’s Doing Something Group Formed in Israel to Ease Struggle of Newcomers with Problems Posed

It is an old saying here that “Israel likes aliya, but does not like the olim.” Some of the new settlers, it now appears, are returning the compliment; they like aliya but do not like Israel. Or rather, says Dr. Miron Sheskin, chairman of the Organization of Newly Arrived Professionals from the Soviet Union, they do not like the two aspects of Israeli life with which they have most contact as newcomers: administrative bureaucracy and public relations.

Bureaucracy is a fact of life in Israel, to the consternation of both immigrants and long-time residents. But the immigrant faces a greater than normal exposure of bureaucracy during the early stages of his adjustment, when he is new to the mounds of red tape that the veteran Israeli takes for granted. The rudeness of a bank teller drinking coffee and chatting with friends at the customer’s expense, or the flippancies of a bus driver or official, can thus make an indelible impression on the new immigrant, Dr. Sheskin declared.

The little irritations of daily life here, not to mention the more serious problems the newcomer faces in adjusting professionally and socially to a new country, are made all the more difficult for the immigrant from Russia or the United States by the image he had of Israel before he came. All too often, the prospective newcomer thinks of Israel as a paradise where all his problems will disappear. No country could live up to such expectations, and the result is that olim, especially those from America, are notorious complainers. This in turn angers many Israelis, who dislike the constant criticism of their country by “greenhorns,” and a cycle of mutual resentment and misunderstanding is set up between immigrant and Israeli, Dr. Sheskin reported.

Dr. Sheskin, together with several dozen others, Knesset members, specialists in psychology and sociology, leading professors, statisticians, and newly arrived professionals, hopes to help rectify this situation by setting up a “committee of concern.” A first meeting to discuss broad objectives, was held here recently, and a second meeting is now planned. “We are worried about the relations between the new immigrants and the people living in this country,” Dr. Sheskin told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency. “Worried means we don’t think the relations are as they should be–it doesn’t mean we think one side is all white and the other all black. The two groups do not understand each other well, and do not understand the purpose of Israel, which makes no sense without aliya.” Dr. Sheskin said the new committee will “try to find ways and means to build a golden bridge between both unsatisfied groups.” To do this, the committee will make use of statistics, lobbying in the Knesset, the press, pamphlets, speakers, etc. In addition to fighting bureaucracy, Dr. Sheskin hopes to help correct the distorted image of Israel that stems from the oleh’s exposure to public relations. “A more realistic approach to the life in this country is needed,” Dr. Sheskin said. “We cannot tell people not to come here, but why encourage say a 60-year-old lawyer who has a pension in the Soviet Union to make aliya–what will he be able to do here? The Russian Jews want to find a place under the sun in Israel–not a car or a house.” Dr. Sheskin continued, “They want to build this country, to be part of it.” The new “committee of concern” hopes to help immigrants from all countries to do just that, Dr. Sheskin declared.