Shocks in Paradise: Soviet Jews in Israel
By PHILIP GILLON
The fight of the Russian Jews for their right to
emigrate to Israel has been so heroic, and the struggle
of world Jewry to make the modern Pharoahs "let my
people go" so determined, that it is hard to believe
the story of those Russians, who do succeed in getting
to Israel, cannot be summarized thereafter in the old
fairy story phrase: "They lived happily ever after." With
incredible bravery, the Jews in Russia struggle to talk
Hebrew, sing Hebrew songs, dance the hora, listen to the
Voice of Israel, and dream of living in the Jewish para-
dise. When their dreams come true, like all immigrants
they experience a type of cultural shock they feel them-
selves "alone, and afraid, in a world they never made."
Not in the least painful aspect of this shock, perhaps
paradoxically, is the need to resist. In a matter of hours,
the fighters for freedom are wafted from the intense
underground struggle to freedom and the problems of
peace. They were busy night and day in secret meetings,
writing protests, defying the omnipotent authorities, risk-
ing imprisonment in Siberia or confinement in a mental
hospital — suddenly all that is finished, they are urged
to settle down, learn Hebrew, find jobs, worry about
curtains, earn money. If they talk too often and too long
about the recent past, listeners think impatiently of them
as bores. They are tormented by the knowledge that the
struggle is still going on without them, that comrades
like Salmansohn are still in goal. For a time they try to
continue the flight from Israel through hunger strikes
at the Western Wall, petitions, letters. The pressure of
life forces the Russian newcomer, although his con-
science torments him to concentrate his energies on his
practical problems. And here comes the second shock:
he had assumed that everything in paradise would be
better than it was in the USSR. Where there is indeed
an improvement, such as with regard to personal free-
dom of housing, he takes such things for granted, as
measuring up to expectations: if anything is worse, he
is horrified.
The first great surprise is the matter of work. Is-
rael's people, and their supporters abroad, make pro-
digious sacrifices to create work for the immigrants:
the country's economy is kept "on the boil," despite
gloomy warnings from the economists; new posts are
created for the newcomers.
But the Soviet Jews are not always impressed. On
girl told a "Jerusalem Post" reporter: "In Russia you
don't have to look for work. Everyone naturally goes to
work, and there is no such thing as a person not having
a job. Coming here to a free market, the fact that one
has to search for somewhere to work is really quite a
traumatic experience. I know that some immigrants find
it very difficult to adjust to this."
Hundreds of millions of United Jewish Appeal dollars
are invested in providing immigrants with apartments of
quality envied by ,some veteran Israelis. Much of the
new housing is sited in development towns in the North
and South, away from the narrow Bat Yam-Haifa sea-
board and Jerusalem: Israel cannot afford to have the
entire population in a sprawling megalapolis. As immi-
grants arrive at Lod, they are sent wherever housing
is available.
Thus a group may be sent to the Negev town of
Arad, and the settlers may find there is no work in their
old trades, while they hear from relatives living in Bat
Yam, a Tel Aviv satellite town, that there is plenty of
such work in Tel Aviv. So they apply for housing in Bat
Yam, close to the type of work they want to do and the
relatives who can help them. Sorry, the officials tell
them, there is no vacant housing in Bat Yam, there is
only housing in Arad. Another shock — Israel has a
bureaucracy. And how!
Many of the immigrants, particularly the Georgians,
were petty traders, eking out a livelihood in the crevices
of the Soviet economy. They assumed that they would
do the same kind of business in Israel. Instead they are
sent to work in factories. Most of them give up their
first jobs in a few months. but hold out in the next
factories to which they are sent by the Labor Exchange.
Academics have particular problems. The system
evolved in Israel is that all academics are sent with
their families to residential absorption centers, where
they learn Hebrew and get a chance to familiarize them-
selves with the country. This seems to the Israelis to be
a wonderful service.
But many of the academics are experts in the fields
for which there is little demand in Israel. Nobody has a
post for a Russian philologist, or for a Russian poet, who
was supported by the state, or even for an engineer
who specialized in heavy iron production. Doctors who
practiced in hospitals for many years, find that there
is no room at the top in Israeli institutions, no professors
resign to make room for them. The Hadassah hospital in
Jerusalem considers that it has made a massive con-
tribution by placing 90 Soviet immigrants. Many doctors,
who want to work in urban hospitals, are told to go on
refresher courses, and even after that cannot be put in
charge of clinics.
Even worse off are the dentists. For years, the He-
brew University-Hadassah Dental School has been
battling to raise dental standards in Israel to those of
other Western countries; Russian dentists study for only
four years, and their training is not recognized as ade-
quate. It is not easy for a man who has practiced den-
tistry for 20 years to be told to go back to school.
The Russians experience other shocks before accept-
ing the social fabric of Israel. The Orthodox among
them expected Israel to be a ghetto dream come true,
a vast shtetl dominated by the synagogue and the yes-
hiva; they find the secular powerful politically, traveling
to the beaches on the Sabbath, and eating non-kosher
foods. Can this be the Jewish paradise? Conversely, edu-
cated, broad-minded Russian Jews are appalled by the
political power of the rabbis, their control over marriage
and other aspects of personal law, their insistence on
customs that they may consider barbarous.
After the heroic struggle to get to Israel, the Rus-
sians assume that life will be an endless welcome feast.
They find that some Israelis, such as the Black Panthers,
resent the benefits bestowed on today's immigrants to
help them to be absorbed.
The Jewish Agency makes enormous efforts to soften
these shocks of change. Over 30 absorption centers have
been set up, and almost as many hostels. Residential
ulpanim in the city cater for some of the newcomers.
There are 60 kibutz ulpanim, where people work some
hours and study the rest. These facilities cater to 40,000
academics — not all of whom, of course, come from the
USSR. For the non-academics there are intensive
labour retraining courses, some lasting a few months,
others for longer periods. Associations formed by former
Russian immigrants are playing a key role in helping the
newcomers to understand the reality of Israel, in helping
them through the first agonies of adaption, and in fight-
ing the good fight for them against bureaucracy.
Some Israelis, who have spent weary evenings
listening to settlers from Western countries describing
how hard it is to settle down in Israel, may feel that
the Russians do not have it harder than other immi-
grants. But they do, because they have more illusions,
they are poorly informed before they come. The greater
the illusion, the harder the adjustment.
One consolation is the immigration, however hard for
the individual immigrant, makes a country great, as
was proved in the United States and in Israel. The other
is that the Russians are driven by strong patriotic fer-
vor. One woman, working in a job she did not enjoy,
was asked how she liked Israel. She answered: "That
is not a valid question. This is my country. I am here
because I believe in Israel."
Hebrew U. Scientists Find New Jerusalem Water Source
"In that day there shall be
a fountain opened to the
House of David and to the
inhabitants of Jerusalem."
—Zacharia 14:8
JERUSALEM —"The idea
of drilling here came to me
during the siege of Jerusa-
lem in 1948," Prof. Leo
Picard, Hebrew University
c, geologist, said in a comment
on the fact that water re-
sources he and his colleagues
have located in Jerusalem
yield one-fourth the city's
below the university's Mount
Scopus campus.
The forecast for the early
1980s is that Jerusalem will
have an annual consumption
of approximately 40,000,000
cu. m. of water of which
17,000,000 cu. m. will be lo-
cally obtained.
covered groundwater. I t s
chlorine content is only 60-
100 milligrams per liter
which is among the best one
can find in Israel.
Another major feature of
the new resources is that
water previously consumed
in Jerusalem had to be lifted
from the Coastal Plain from
a height of 25 to 800 meters
above sea level, while the
water in the wells in and
around Jerusalem now only
needs a lift from 300-400
thus requiring much less
energy.
The first well, where water
was found in 1954, is situated
near Ein Karem, while the
first in the city proper was
located in the valley east of
the Israel Museum in 1967.
present consumption.
Hydrogeologists have come
A total of 24 wells in and across these new sources of
The two newest wells in
around Jerusalem are in water at an average rate of
Jerusalem are located near
various stages of construc- 34 wells per year.
tion. Most of them are oper-
Prof. Picard and two of the new housing project of
ating and now produce ap- his former pupils and close Neve Yaacov, near Shu'afat
proximately 7,000,000 cubic associates, Zeev Shiftan, on the Jerusalem-Ramallah
meters of water annually. head of the hydrology di- Road, and below Mount
Half a dozen of the wells are vision of Tahal (Water Plan- Scopus, respectively.
located within the city pre-
cincts. The last of these,
still in a stage of drilling,
is in the Kidron Valley just
48 Friday, March 16, 1973
—
Drilling is done with a
ning for Israel, Ltd.), and
Uri Baida, Tahal hydro- rotary machine. The final
geologist, stressed the ex- hole will have a diameter of
cellent quality of the dis- 45 cm, sufficiently wide for
a powerful turbine pump to
THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS produce an average of 250
Maxima list's Revolt
Editor's Note: Ephraim Kishon is Israel's leading hu-
morist. His humor is often what is called in Yiddish "a
bitterer gelechter" — literally "bitter laughter." A favorite
topic of Israel humor and satire is the taxes Israelis pay:
the highest in the world. Kishon writes about taxes and
gross income and net income, and Israelis laugh.
*
*
BY EPHRAIM KISHON
Like all serious things, it all started with a toothache.
The doctor found that there was a hole in one of my
molars, but in the middle of the treatment he turned off
the drill and slipped out of his white smock.
"Sorry," he said, "It's not worth my while to con-
tinue . . . " I was lying supine in his chair, my mouth
pried wide open by a little springy instrument, and groaned
dejectedly.
"My net income reached IL1,100 a month this year,"
he said and started stacking his instruments in their
cabinet. "I am paying maximum tax at the rate of over
80 per cent on every additional pound, it is not worth the
trouble . . . "
I motioned with my hands that I was for con:._ _ng
the treatment regardless.
"It's not worth your while either, sir," the doctor
coaxed me. "You have got to earn IL3,000 to keep IL600
net with which to pay. And after paying tax on that sum
I'll be left with only 1L120. I intended to pay this IL120 to
my wife's driving teacher. In other words, out of your_
IL 3,000 the teachers will actually get a total of IL 124."
"All right," I said, "but that's net."
"True," the doctor agreed, "but unfortunately our driv-
ing teacher doubled his fee as of yesterday and now asks
IL48 net per lesson. So, to pay him the extra IL24 I now
have to raise the fee you are paying for this treatment
from IL3,000 to IL6,000. Come, let's forget it . . . "
I spat out the little springy instrument, got up and
whispered the national slogan into the dentist's ear:
"Listen, did I ask you for a receipt?"
"No, you are on the ball," thus the doctor. "But I don't
want troubles; I declare all my income. It's a question of
honor with me."
"So the hole in my tooth will have to stay?"
"No, you can pay 11,48 net direct to my wife's driving
teacher. If you do that we'll both be covered.
"Just a second," I thought loudly. "What am I going
to say if the authorities discover in the driving teacher's
books that I paid for your wife's lessons?"
"Tell them she's your lover."
"May I see her photo?"
"I meant for taxation purposes only .. . PJ
I asked him whether we could go on with the drilling
and we made a date for the end of the week. But then I
ran into complications with the driving teacher.
"Sorry," the man informed me. "Until the end of
August I won't touch money, because each additional pruta
puts me in a higher tax bracket. Money is out of the
question."
"So couldn't I pay your grocery bill?"
"It's already been paid by the furniture manufacturer
who is learning to drive his private car. I am quite well
organized," the teacher added, "the house painter who
studies the motorcycle with me, for instance, the other day
painted my sister's apartment in lieu of a fee. My garage
bill is jointly paid by two fashion designers. Can you sing?"
"Not really."
"That's a pity. I'd like to develop my voice. Have you
got a stamp collection?"
"Only my key holders."
"That's junk. But you know what? Pay our babysitter
in exchange for the driving lessons of your dentist's
wife . . . "
I got along nicely with the babysitter. Though at first
she was afraid of negotiating with me, saying she doesn't
accept money from strangers. I proposed to bring recom-
mendations from our plumber, locksmith, seamstress, bar-
ber, gardener, electrician, beautician, general practitioner,
lawyer and night watchman, all of whom can testify that I
pay everything only with checks properly made out to
"myself," without receipts, very discreetly and urbanely.
"No, I don't want to be in anybody's power," the baby-
sitter persisted. "Is your tooth hurting badly?"
"It's getting worse all the time."
"Then buy me contact lenses."
"Willingly," I agreed. "But what am I going to say if
they discover it in the optician's books?"
"Tell them. I am your mistress."
"Sorry, but that job is taken," I informed the baby-
sitter. "The dentist's wife already registered with me. Have
you got a raincoat?"
"Yes, the young couple upstairs with, the new-born
baby bought me one," said the babysitter. "I am willing to
settle for a weekend in Tiberias with half-board . . . "
cubic meters of water per
hour from each well.
Prospecting and drilling
for water is an art as well
as a science, according to
Prof. Picard and his col-
leagues. For Prof. Picard,
72, who together with his
pupils has been instrumental
in turning Israel into one of
the most highly developed
countries as far as water
discovery is concerned, find-
ing these new water re-
And thus the circle closed. The (Tiberias) hotel owner's
sources in Jerusalem is an dentist refused to accept money, because he too is in the
achievement crowning his 40 bracket, and asked for an airticket to Uruguay for his
year career of water pros- .mother-in-law, or 3,000 eggs and 10 kilos of salt. By then I
pecting.
was a little tired of the 'maximum pursuit and decided to
The great experience resign myself to the toothache until I could locate through
which has been gained in the newspaper ads a bad dentist wtih low maximum tax.
last decades has led Prof.
Anyway, the government's wise fiscal policy deserves.
unreserved praise, for not only preventing bank liquidity,
Picard to found the Ground-
water Research Center at but also for succeeding — for the first time in modern
t h e Hebrew University's history — in eradicating that ancient curse of mankind and
removing the evil of money as a means of payment. We
Givat Ram campus.
have returned to the barter trade of the primitive peoples,
Geologists and engineers
from countries throughout a most praiseworthy development; before long we shall •
the world are trained at the return to the trees of the governmental jungle.
"Wise Guy, Solomon" is the newest of the works of Ephraim
center in annual six-month
Kishon. It has just been published by Atheneum in an excellent
courses.
translation from the Hebrew by Yohanan Goldman.