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Soviet Jews

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FRIDAY, MAY 24, 1991

Sovieticus" is a breed all to
its own.
She said a combination of
unrealistic expectations,
overdependency, manip-
ulative behavior, strong
reliance on friends and fami-
ly and an ambivalence to
Jewish identity are common
psychocultural characteris-
tics of Soviet Jewish immi-
grants.

"Soviet Jews are a heteroge-
neous group with strong
ethnic and class differences,"
said Mrs. Belozersky, who is
from the Soviet Union. "For
many, the transplantation to
America can be especially dif-
ficult because of the great
social differences between
their old and new systems."

Mrs. Belozersky said
Americans need to under-
stand what they sometimes
perceive as rude or pushy
behavior. In general, it's
simply a survival technique
they learned in the Soviet
Union if they were to get
anywhere in that society.
Lateness, she said, was a
culturally acceptable norm
since hardly anyone made
appointments because peo-
ple took it for granted they
would wait in lines wherever
they went, no matter how
early they got there.
In many cases, Mrs.
Belozersky said, a stoic
countenance was typical
since it was considered
suspicious to be found smil-
ing outside one's home. She
said what some Americans
sense as arrogance actually
stems from a belief that they
are being cheated out of a
better life. Some self-impor-
tance, she said, comes from
taking dangerous risks to
emigrate.
For some, constant com-
plaining is nothing more
than a reluctance to speak of
something good for fear
one's luck might change.
And fmally, since religion is
often mocked in the Soviet
Union, many prefer to re-
main on the sidelines of Jew-
ish practices.
In recognition of these
cultural phenomena, CJF
formed a task force on ac-
culturation and integration
last year and charged it with
developing principles and
guidelines for federations
across the country.
"Acculturation and in-
tegration has brought us
together before, during the
GA (General Assembly) and
quarterly meetings," said
Rabbi Arthur Vernon, direc-
tor of Educational Resources
and Services at JESNA.
"But this is the first time
representatives from com-
munity agencies came

together under one roof to
learn how to function and
coordinate as a team," Rabbi
Vernon said.
The guidelines call for a
process of cultural and com-
munal interaction different
from assimilation. They in-
clude facilitating inter-
agency cooperation and
access by allowing federa-
tions to take the lead and
make clear to the refugees
and the agencies serving
them that the Jewish com-
munity has assumed respon-
sibility for refugee reset-
tlement.
The task force also sug-
gested that federations
recruit Soviet Jews to start
their own self-help groups,
publications and cultural in-
stitutions as well as
strengthen volunteer par-
ticipation in acculturation
programs.
"For acculturation to
work, it must be a two-way
street," according to
Suzanne Cohen, chair of the
task force and chairman of
the board of the Jewish Com-

"There's no
graduate degree in
acculturation,"

Misha Galperin

munity Federation of Balti-
more. "The point is not for the
Soviet Jews to give up their
rich culture and heritage."
It's important to treat ac-
culturation and integration
as a long-term process that
respects both cultures, Mrs.
Cohen said.
Francine Klensin, coor-
dinator of Project Limud, a
family education program
designed by the Baltimore
Board of Education, said her
curriculum is created for ed-
ucational purposes only.
"We're still in the experi-
mental stage," said Mrs.
Klensin, who attended the
conference. "Our focus is on
elementary Hebrew skills,
Jewish customs and holidays.
Baltimore has a wonderful
network of well-organized
professionals who get
together monthly to coor-
dinate programming."
Baltimore has resettled
332 Soviet Jews since July 1,
1990 through the end of
April 1991, a representative
from JFS said. About 54
more are expected this mon-
th, which is a decline from
previous months, the
Baltimore agency said.
Rena Rappaport, a field
representative with HIAS,
the Hebrew Immigrant Aid
Society, said that HIAS was
noticing a general drop in
the recent numbers of Soviet

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