ANALYSIS
Glimpse the Future...
Israel Is Unprepared
To Absorb Soviets
LOUIS RAPOPORT
Israel Correspondent
T
he historic exodus of
tens of thousands of
Soviet Jews, sparked
by the political upheaval
taking place in Russia and
Eastern Europe, caught
Israeli officials completely
by surprise and they remain
in disarray.
Estimates of how many
Jews will immigrate have
skyrocketed in the last two
weeks, with the government
now saying that 750,000 to
one million Soviet Jews are
likely to come to Israel in the
next three years.
But the Shamir govern-
ment does not appear to be
in any hurry to respond to
the challenge. One Israeli
editorialist commented,
"The greatest potential test
ever of Israel's historic
commitment to aliyah is be-
ing met by an attitude of
business as usual."
The news of a huge im-
migration wave that is al-
ready breaking over Israel
has also set off protests from
Israelis of North African
origin who mistakenly
believe that funds
designated for poverty areas
will now be channeled to the
new immigrants. They don't
want the Russians. Ironical-
ly, most of the Russian Jews
don't want to come to Israel,
either, preferring the United
States — a typical Jewish
paradox.
One slum neighborhood
activist, Yamin Suissa of
Jerusalem's Katamon
quarter, even sent a tele-
gram to President Gor-
bachev urging him to close
the gates on the Jews.
Natan Sharansky, head of
the Soviet Jewry Forum, an
umbrella group, termed this
act "undemocratic and
against the Law of Return,"
while Uri Gordon, head of
the Jewish Agency's Im-
migration Department, told
Suissa in a television debate,
"You are out of your mind."
Suissa is considered a fr-
inge figure, but he was ex-
pressing very real and legit-
imate concerns that drew
support from important,
moderate leaders of
Moroccan or Oriental origin,
such as Knesset members
Rafi Edri and Eli Ben-
Menachem.
They also vented their
anger over the allocation of
funds, believing that people
living below the poverty line
— most of whom are of North
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THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS
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