..
. .
.*.‘i"
7,,,,,,..2..,:wrer. .. . : r., ...
' 4? - 4 -4 - :,,, th*4 3...';'; '1'r
. e' - ..,.. ..
....., .„.,„.„,,_
,
„ . ,
.,, .
,• . .... .
,,, i r!,..., ....f..- .-A-t- .
" .-." ' . ,....,...:...1. .r '7-4 .;1;...;:; - .: ..- • --1 :1,:;.-
..4.;./..1V, -- ', • .;....' -'-'"'-'-'", ., 4 , ' ,
''''''.^ - ' , v --,.....‹,,, •. ^. , ' 4rn, ''..„,..
'-. 2,6, 4 -ir.... '.--
.. ii ;:t.
'
. ,..."4,17.7rWLAio04.--...-,
-1'. . ---,,
..,- -. .. C:;,.4r;,:1:&.:a. .,,
,_.L.,,..,,,,-
,. , . _.,.!::. ..„.,
,e„...,., ,.;,/2- .,..g;ii:: ,:.4., -.4.4, .i.- }.:,)!,:%,..: , S. drir"* ".- "".- . .''4''' "Th
.,..
--
. 30..«..**64w.c»
.a.:
- . mr-r-'-11.
' -, tv.u.....t4:4„;,,i‘or04..14. 044)'
!..,.. - ,
1 ",
.• ,, .r' z''''''".. 7 . . '"1 '- 4: ...
, *
-.e. 4•*1} . • ",
: , —...„7-p.
...r.
,: --,
.
...'4 470...! ,'71%--;, - - "7"
......k
''''''""'
I ...-..., ..: .•• •-• .
1••
--;.-
'MO%
•••• ■ •
.777.---**. •
. - -
IIIPPIMMOMMININEW
.5•41141.4- ,■
,..
^
• - 4..
•
. .
"11.01NONIgeffinigillairfr
•
44
•
Nt-
''4"441111
iii
t
cf. • •
•
4-
`4••• •
L
ti
!, •
..4
rt
. •
- -4
.4,
ti
Art By Barry Fitzgerald
come here in recent years. No
exact figures are available,
but Israeli officials and South
African Jewish leaders esti-
mate that anywhere between
7,000 to 20,000 Israelis have
settled in this country.
The Israelis I met in South
Africa, even those who had
emigrated more • than a
decade ago, said they were
planning to return to Israel,
sooner or later. For the most
part they are young. Some
have high-tech skills and were
lured by fat contracts. Others
are businessmen, and many
are married to, or related to,
South African Jews.
There's not much socializ-
ing between the Israelis and
the South African Jews, who
find the Israelis cliquish.
One can see why the Is-
raelis enjoy South Africa, a
beautiful country that is as
civilized in its social and
business conduct as Israel is
primitive.
Too Hard In Israel
Indeed, some South
Africans blame conditions in
Israel for the lack of aliyah.
Rabbi Isadore Rubenstein,
32, principal Jewish Chaplain
of the South African Defense
Force for five years and an
Israeli resident for three
years, said the lack of
Zionism in Israel seems to
have disillusioned South
African Zionists.
"There was no feeling of
Zionism there," he said of his
experience in Israel. "So if
one talks about the South
African Jewish community
being a Zionist community,
my feeling is that a person
who is a great Zionist idealist
who goes to Israel will prob-
ably have his aliyah fail more
quickly than anybody else."
Rubenstein cited a specific
case. A great local Zionist,
who recently made aliyah,
just returned to South Africa.
He went there with great
idealism, and he quickly and
bitterly was disappointed and
disillusioned. Rubenstein's
friend recently wrote a letter
to friends in the South Afri-
can Jewish community ex-
pressing his disappointment.
For South African Jews,
there are indeed lots of tan-
gible problems involved in
moving to Israel. The mater-
ialistic quality of life — the
niceties — is pretty high in
South Africa. "It's an easy
life," Rubenstein said. "People
here have manners and cour-
tesies. They have old fash-
ioned ethics. A businessman's
word is , a word.
"Israel, if one looks at it
without any illusions, is a
Levantine country," he said.
"I think that the culture
shock which the average
South African experiences
even when going on holiday
to Israel — let alone emi-
grating to Israel — is enor-
mous. There is no other way
to describe it."
, The feedback from olim,
also, is very negative. "The
vibes or the stories that they
hear from olim are negative,"
he said.
qbny Leon, an up and corn-
ing 31-year-old Progressive
Party City Councilman in
Johannesburg, has seen many
of his best childhood friends
leave in recent years. They,
too, have not gone to Israel.
"I would say that about two-
thirds of my friends have left
the country," he said. "I don't
know one who has actually
gone to Israel — in my direct
circle."
In general, the younger
Jews are leaving, many of
them doctors, attorneys and
other professionals, seeking
new lives in the West. Their
parents stay behind, reluc-
tant to give up their busi-
nesses and a way of life they
have grown comfortable with.
A Matter Of Comfort
Prof. Harold Rudolph, a
former mayor of Cape rIbwn,
attributes the attrition to the
West • to creature comfort.
"They simply look at the
situation and ask, 'Where's it
comfortable? Where can we
live more or less in accordance
with the standard we live in
the present moment?' Aus-
tralia, Canada, America
spring to mind because of the
reasonably comparable stan-
dards of living and an
English-language back-
ground." Rudolph said he is
staying put, but if forced to
THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS
25