INSIGHT For Israelis, Soviet Aliyah Mixed Blessing Aliyah is Israel's lifeblood, but absorbing thousands of new immigrants is an added strain on the economy. The Jewish News ZE'EV CHAFETS Israel Correspondent keeps you posted on Jewish happenings everywhere! Cal T he Bush Administra- tion's decision to drastically limit the number of Russian Jews allowed to immigrate to the U.S. is being greeted here with satisfaction — and more than a little concern. I 354-6060 TODAY and order your subscription. 24 HOUR SERVICE VISA, MASTERCARD ; ?-v's. - , wIttktmftn. svntl2E0s1_ .. CORPORATE BILLING ,\., , '' SPECIAL SUMMER RATES — ONE FREE HOUR WITH 1ST 4 HOURS PAID (Consecutive Hours Only) With Coupon *Not Valid with any other special package or offering ''\ 'C $ ,.. FROM ,t, ''''' '>' N .' %,' ‘ $35.00 PER HOUR j USE R OUR LIMO FLEET FOR BUSINESS OR PLEASURE (313) 4774630 THE STUDIO The Complete Dancewear Store for Women & Children • ' ' AIRPORT RATES TWO HOUR LIMO LUNCH SPECIAL ONLY $65.00 With Coupon *Certain restrictions may apply I of Southfield I PASSPORT • SPECIAL $5.95 $12.95 I set • 2 sets "Must lie Done At The Some Time" 2 Photos pet passport (with coupon) 29175 Northwestern Hwy. 358.2333 Send Someone Special a Gift 52 Weeks a Year. SOUTHFIELD Applegate Square Northwestern at Inkster 356.6848 BIRMINGHAM 351 S. Woodward Ave. 540-0418 36 FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 15, 1989 Send a gift subscription to THE JEWISH NEWS! - The good news, as far as Israeli officials are concerned, is that the change in policy could result in a massive in- flux of new olim (emigrants). For more than a decade, Is- raeli officials have watched with anger and frustration as the vast majority of Russian emigres chose Brighton Beach over Jerusalem. Much of this anger has been dir- ected at American Jewish organizations, such as HIAS, which help the Russian Jews settle in America, and at Jewish leaders who defend the drop-outs on the basis of freedom Of choice. - Now the freedom to choose America is being limited by the U.S. government, just at a time when the Soviet Union is liberalizing its emigration laws. Official estimates of the number of Jews who will leave the USSR in the next decade vary from 500,000 to L000,000. Indeed, many high-ranking Israelis believe that this is precisely the reason for the change of American policy. "George Bush is not a Zionist, and he didn't make this decision on the basis of what was good or bad for Israel — he was thinking about America," says Uri Gor- don, who heads the Jewish Agency's Aliyah Department. "Taking in so many newcomers is a tremendous burden, and the Americans don't want to assume it." Gordon also believes, that most of the American Jewish establishment will go along. "They understand that it is important for Israel to get more Jews," he said. "Besides, they don't have the money to absorb that many?' The cost of absorption will be considerable. According to forecasts by the Ministry of Finance, 100,000 Russian Jews will arrive here between 1990 and 1992, and the bill for resettling them will be roughly $3 billion. Most of the cost will be paid, as usual, by the already over-burdened Israeli taxpayer, but officials are counting on American Jews for some assistance. This month, Finance Minister Shimon Peres will go to the United States, where he will ask Jewish leaders to raise one billion dollars to help defray the expense. "Without such help, we will be in a dif- ficult situation," says Peres' deputy, Yossi Beilen. Perhaps the primary diffi- culty will be providing jobs for the immigrants. Most of them are well educated, but few know Hebrew and some have been trained in areas, such as mine engineering or arctic forestry research, which are of no use in Israel. Even those Perhaps the primary difficulty will be providing jobs for the immigrants. with less exotic skills may have a hard time: according to government projections, fully 15 percent of the newcomers will be engineers and medical doctors, professions that are already overcrowded. Housing will also be a prob- lem. The country's public ab- sorption centers are already packed, and providing flats on the private market is expen- sive. The government gives olim loans and grants to buy apartments; this, in turn, drives up demand — and the cost of housing for young couples and others. As a result, not all Israelis are delighted by the prospect of a large Russian immigra- tion. "There are already 150,000 people out of work here," said a Tel Aviv business woman. "Thousands of our own youngsters have to go abroad to find a job. They should come- first." This feeling has been ex- acerbated by the atitude of the Russian Jews themselves. There are currently some ten thousand in transit camps in Italy, waiting to be admitted to the U.S. as refugees. "These people belong here," says-. Gitit Migeres, spokeswoman for the Public Council on Soviet Jewry. "They have a country to go to. It's a disgrace that they call .4 -• ext