the majority knowing little
about their religion and
demonstrating little interest
in learning more once they
arrived.
"I think [American Jews]
were disappointed in our
generation of Russian im-
migrants," says Sirotin, a non-
religious Jew who works for a
Russian-language radio sta-
tion in New York. "They were
expecting us to be Orthodox.
But we came here, and we
were very different form their
grandparents. Maybe they
were expecting a bunch of
religious tailors and
shoemakers."
Bilus thinks that the same
American Jews who picketed
on street corners to "let my
people go" felt let down when
they realized that the Soviet
Jews "were not going to be
the answer to reinvigorating
our Jewish institutions." In-
stead, the new emigres
poured into Brighton Beach
in need of social services,
language classes and jobs but
without much interest in
religious affairs. Resentment
and jealousies began to
develop and the Russian Jews
quickly felt themselves
becoming estranged from
American Jews who had pas-
sionately pleaded their right
to freedom in the first place.
Sirotin eloquently describ-
ed the dilemma confronting
Russian Jews in an article he
wrote a few years ago about
his experiences in moving
from the Soviet Union to the
United States. "There [in the
Soviet Union] I was a Jew
masquerading as a Russian,"
he wrote. "Here I became a
Jew masquerading as a Rus-
sian who masquerades as an
American. When you wear so
many masks all your life, you
forget what your own face
looks like."
Dr. Misha Galperin sees a
different set of problems in
his position as the director of
refugee assistance services for
New York's Jewish Board of
Family and Children Ser-
vices. A psychologist who
emigrated with his family
from Odessa in 1976,
Galperin has been studying
mental health problems
among adolescents in
Brighton Beach and other
Russian pockets in the New
York area.
Galperin says the problems
have been leading to in-
creases in school truancy,
drug abuse and anti-social
behavior among adolescents
who are finding it difficult to
adjust to a new society and
culture. In school, Russian
children rarely join the
mainstream. Instead, they
develop an "us versus them
mentality" that only adds
further to mental health pro-
blems, according to Galperin.
The Jewish Board operates
a number of clinics to provide
mental health services, but
Galperin says the biggest pro-
blem is finding creative ways
to convince Russian im-
migrants to come in for help.
To many Russians, the term
"mental health" carries
unwelcomed connotations of
Soviet-style political or
psychological indoctrination.
In addition, Galperin says
that Russian parents are
often reluctant to seek help
for their children because
they were accustomed in the
Soviet Union to having state
officials take responsibility
for schooling, after-school ac-
tivities and other matters
that are often connected to
positive mental health.
Despite the problems that
exist for the Russian Jews of
Brighton Beach and other
New York neighborhoods,
Saturday night seems to be
the time to leave such worries
aside. Along Brighton Beach
Avenue, restaurants such as
the Primorski or the National
become the focal points for
lively entertainment,
delicious food and festive
socializing with a strong Rus-
sian accent.
On this particular Saturday
evening, Sirotin and his
17-year-old son Alex visit
another popular nightspot,
the Metropol, located a few
miles from Brighton Beach in
the Canarsie section of
Brooklyn. Long tables line
the handsomely-decorated
restaurant, which is colored
in rich grays, mauves and
burgundies. Before long, a
band is playing an eclectic
mixture of music that ranges
from American pop tunes and
Latin salsa numbers to tradi-
tional Georgian folk songs.
It almost seems as if a wed-
ding, bar mitzvah and several
other large parties are taking
place under one roof at the
same time. In one corner of
the restaurant, the proud
parents of a 2-year-old girl are
beaming as they hold her up
and point her toward the
bright lights of the video
camera operator who is recor-
ding the celebration.
Nearby, a dozen or so well-
dressed Russians in their 20s
are enjoying the evening with
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THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS
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