JERUSALEM (JTA) — A new survey finds that a majority of immigrants from the former Soviet Union prefer life in Israel.
The independent survey, commissioned by the Limmud Institute for the FSU, was released as hundreds of Russian-Israeli young adults convened in Jerusalem for a major Limmud conference. The three-day conference began Wednesday.
Some 64 percent of the 300 Russian speakers living in Israel polled said they prefer living in Israel, though another 28 percent said they would like to live in the United States, Western Europe or Russia.
The respondents retain strong ties to the culture of their native country, with 62 percent saying that the standard of Russian culture is higher than Israel compared to 6 percent who prefer Israeli culture.
Some 57 percent of the immigrants complained about discrimination.
The Limmud FSU 2009, marking the 150th anniversary of the birth of famed Jewish and Yiddish author Sholem Aleichem, features more than 200 sessions and workshops on issues relating to Judaism, Russian-Jewish heritage, leadership development, current affairs, culture, community building and continuity.
Natan Sharansky, new chairman of The Jewish Agency for Israel, will be a featured speaker at the event.
