THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS
18 Friday, March 28, 1975
Immigrant Scientists Contributing in Israel
The January 31 issue of
Nature magazine, one of
Britain's prestige scientific
journals, carried a story by
Vera Rich on Israel's efforts
to absorb immigrant scien-
tists.
Ms. Rich writes:
The problem, for a re-
cently arrived scientist from
the Soviet Union is largely
one of adjusting his or her
mental attitude from that of
state-run, state-controlled
research.
For the first time, they
are faced with the problem
of justifying -their pro-
posed- research on an eco-
nomic basis.
It is not only the problem
of what Israel can afford to
pay for (some subjects such
as high energy particle
physics which can only be
tackled on a multinational
or superpower budget, are
clearly ruled out); they have
to cope with a whole 'few
system of funding projects
and buying materials.
Coming from a system
where new graduates are di-
rected into industry or re-
search,. they have no experi-
ence of such basic
procedures as interviews
and applications. Some are
distressed by lack of
`status.'
One physicist in particu-
lar, who, when interviewed
about his reactions to work-
ing in Israel, took advantage
of the opportunity to offer
extensive criticism of the
absorption process, and, in-
deed, of the ,Israeli economy
and political system, con-
cluded by saying that he
loved living in Israel "for
here I can criticize as much
as I like."
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Dr. Uri Horowitz, direc-
tor of the Center for Ab-
sorption of Science, ex-
plains their task of getting
the scientist into the cen-
ter of his own communica-
tions network, in other
words, to familiarize him
with the whole job-finding
routine and to introduce
him to various contacts.
In general, the impression,
gained from interviews with
scientists who have been
absorbed is that remarkable
efforts have been made to
keep them within their.
same general discipline.
Some of the cases of
"change direction" quoted
prove on investigation to be
nothing more than change
of employment.
Thus the Kinneret re-
search station (attached to
the Technion) has absorbed
five immigrants from the
Soviet Union, only one of
whom is a limnologist, the
other four being physicists
and chemists, who are, how-
ever, still working in their
original fields, although
now on the physics and
chemistry of lake water.
The need for 'retraining'
often referred to may cover
nothing more than the
need of a computer expert.
to learn a new program-
ming language.
Some scientists arrived
with a choice of interests,
and have found their subsi-
diary interests in Russia
can be their main interest in
Israel.
The main problems seem
to arise with those who
qualified not in one of the
big state universities, but in
a small Institute of Higher
Education, where the sub-
jects taught are extremely
narrow and the graduate is,
by Western standards, more
an applied technologist than
a scientist.
Even for the best quali-
fied scientists, there is, on
arrival in Israel, generally a
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backlog of study to be made
up. Under the current Soviet
practice towards academic
,would-be emigrants . . . one
may spend months or years
as a "refusnik", with neither
the opportunity nor the nec-
essary time to keep up one's
reading or think about one's
own research.
As far as possible, the
universities do assist in
the problem of learning
Hebrew. The Ben-Gurion
University (Beersheba)
employs its immigrants on
a kind of sandwich-course
basis, half their time being
devoted to studying He-
brew.
Tel Aviv University,
which has absorbed some
280 immigrants (including
postgraduate students) has
its own ulpan.
The Pure Mathematics
Department at Tel Aviv
University was "virtually
non-existent" until the wave
of Soviet immigrants ar-
rived; now is acquiring a
Author Suggests Non-Jews
Adopt Jewish Customs, Ritual
considerable reputation and
Franklin H. Littell, a
the university is hoping to
expand its Astronomy De- leading Christian historian,
partment in a similar man- states in his new book, "The
-Crucifixion of the Jews,"
ner.
The Ben-Gurion Univer- published by Harper and
sity, having absorbed seven Row, that Christians could
Soviet pure mathematicians benefit from adopting some
into senior teching posts, is aspects of Hebrew worship
making tentative plans — from which Christianity
(subject to funding) to de- evolved.
velop an Institute of Applied
"What is it if not pres-
Mathematics that could,
take, initially, about 20 or umptious for us to assume .
30 applied mathematicians.
that 'the Jews,' called by
The vast scientific com-
God to be carriers of his-
plexes of the Technion and
tory, should desire to blend
the Weizmann Institute into the gentile world?" asks
likewise still seem to offer
Dr. Littell. ."Christians
considerable possibilities
should affirm the right of
for absorbing futher immi-
the Jewish people to self-
grants.
identity and self-definition.
The main problem re- No brotherhood can develop
mains that of funding — if one partner is constantly
but Israel has a long history endeavoring to box-in the
of foreign endowments for other party."
academic institutions and,
in spite of economic difficul-
Dr. Littell recommends
ties, one feels that in the that the Christian annual
long run the money will be
calendar include a special
found.
service memorializing the
`Zalmen, or the madness of God'
Is An Inspiration for the Future
A great drama, portray-
ing the plight of Russian
Jewry from all aspects of
the conditions that have de-
veloped in the past decade,
gains significance in the
Elie Weisel play, "Zalmen,
or the Madness of God,"
published by Random
House.
Elie Wiesel had witnessed
the agonies of the Russian
Jews. He was at the Moscow
synagogue and observed the
silence of the cowed and
oppressed. He also observed
how the courageous spoke
their minds and began what
has developed into a revolt
and the beginning of the end
of the hushing up of inner
feelings of those who were
deprived of their rights as
free citizens and as Jews
craving for affiliation with
their kinsmen.
Wiesel's drama of ter-
rorization takes place in a
synagogue in a small town
in Russia. The rabbi is
among the terrorized. The
oppressive atmosphere ev-
idences the gloomy condi-
tions, the failure to speak
out, the submission to fear
and -to the heel of Soviet
domination.
The shames, Zalmen the
sexton, is the emerging
rebel, the awakener of con-
science. He is the voice of
protest. He succeeds in
rousing the rabbi to a recog-
nition of the evils brought
by oppressive Russian rul-
ers who included Jewish col-
laborators in the oppres-
sion.
Zalmeri is the hero, the
Rabbi is the awakened con-
science of the Jews who be-
gin to abandon the silence of
doom.
The Wiesel drama, a play
already acclaimed on televi-
sion and in its initial show-
ing at the United Jewish
Appeal conference last year,
is becoming another vehicle
in the regaining of courage
Like his numerous works
which inspire faith, the new
play, filled with the anguish
of Jews suffering from reli-
gious and civil discrimina-
tion, renews the emphasis
in the eminent author's
powerful pleadings for faith
and hope for days of the vic-
tory for freedom.
Holocaust victims, so that
Christian congregations can
"come to terms- with its
meaning." While the Chris-
tians preach "the suffering
of the cross," the Jews have
lived it, he points out, and
they have found their resur-
rection in the re-establish-
ment of Israel as a refuge.
Dr. Littel suggests that
Christians could benefit by
appropriating some of the
Jewish religious customs.
"The Passover sede lk
celebrates an event which
has primordial signifi-
cance for Christian as well
as Jewish faith: the deliv-
erance out of slavery in
Egypt," he wrote.
"A significant number of
read _ ings and prayers link
the Exodus with continuing
efforts to attain full liberty
and dignity for all mankind.
The scriptural passages and
prayers are evocative and
meaningful for believing
Christians as well as for
Jews."
He recommends that
Christians adopt a Christian
initiation ceremony com-
parable to the Bar Mitzva
(or Bat Mitzva), as a "signal
event in the life of the boy or
girl passing into manhood
or womanhood in the Chris-
tian congregation."
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Presents
"THE CONTEMPORARY LOOK"
Levelors, verticals, Roman Shades
and Custom Shades
by Jews in the Soviet Union.
Wiesel, who previously aut-
hored the appeal in behalf of
Russian Jewry in "The Jews
of Silence," strenghens his
appeal for justice in
"Zalmen, or Madness of
God."
Israelis Warned
of Letter Bombs
JERUSALEM (JTA) —
The police issued a new let-
ter-bomb warning instruct-
ing the public to notify them
immediately on receipt of
any mail on which the send-
er's or addressee's name is
not clear or is unknown to
the receiver.
The new warning was is-
sued amid reports of a chain
of letter bombs found in
Beirut, Lebanon.
Meanwhile, police are in-
vestigating a shot that shat-
tered the window of a sen-
try box in the Knesset
courtyard March 11, The
guard who was standing
outside at the time was un-
hurt and no other damage
was reported.
Police combed the area
which included the grounds
of the nearby Hebrew Uni-
versity campus from where
the shot seemed to have
come, but found no clues.
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