Y E A R

IN

R E V I E W

The Greatest Exodus Continues, Part II

F

or much of the year, the
continuing emigration of
Jews from the Soviet
Union to Israel was so
commonplace that, despite
the large numbers, it was almost
taken for granted — until the _
attempted coup in the USSR last
month.
Despite the difficulty in leaving
one's homeland for an unknown
future, despite widespread reports
of housing and job shortages in
Israel, even despite the Persian
Gulf War during which Israel was
under frequent attack, Soviet Jews
continued to seek new lives in the
Jewish state.
True, this year's total number
will not match the all-time record,
set last year, when 186,615 Soviets
boarded planes bound toward the
West. But the fact is that they
have continued to come by the
planeload to Israel every day, a
steady stream that will bring well
over 100,009 more Soviet Jews to
Israel this year.
There is discussion now as to
whether the three-day coup, and

the return of Mikhail Gorbachev,
will result in a dramatic rise — or
falling off — in the number of
Soviet Jews who make aliyah.
Israeli officials are hoping to
convince the Jews still in the
USSR that the attempted coup
underscores the precariousness of
life in the Soviet Union,
particularly for Jews, who could
easily become the scapegoat during
times of unrest.
But some Soviet Jews feel that
democratic reforms will move
ahead more quickly now that the
hard-liners and old guard have
failed, and they are considering
staying behind to help build up
their homeland.
One factor may well be the
realization that life in Israel can
be difficult. Despite massive
infusions of dollars from American
Jewish fund-raisers, through
Operation Exodus, Israeli
authorities have been unable to
keep pace with the flood of
immigrants. Efforts to build
housing were delayed due to
bureaucratic problems; then the

temporary housing units were
criticized as instant slums.
The prospects for meaningful
employment are even more
sobering, and there have been
flare-ups between Israeli
authorities and Soviet Jewish
doctors, who feel that the
requirements they are being told
they must meet to practice in
Israel are unfair. Such tension is
sure to increase, as the demand for
professional employment among
college-educated immigrants
increases.
The Bush administration has
made an issue of whether the
newcomers are settled in the West
Bank, but the Israeli government
maintains that the immigrants,
like all Israelis, are free to settle
anywhere in the democratic state.
Moreover, the actual number of
Soviet Jews who settle in the
territories is miniscule.
The growing Soviet Jewish
presence has changed Israeli
society, from the use of Russian
language, to the effort by Israeli
political parties to woo the

immigrants, with the ruling Likud
coalition said to be the favorite, at
least for now.
At year's end, a showdown was
shaping up between Washington
and Jerusalem over a proposed
five-year U.S. loan guarantee of
$10 billion for resettlement. The
administration sought to link
approval to an Israeli agreement to
halt new settlements in the
territories. American Jewish
organizations were working hard to
make the case that the loan
guarantee was a humanitarian, not
political, issue.
If the loan guarantee does not
come to fruition, Israel will be
more hard-pressed than ever to
provide housing and jobs. But as
long as Jerusalem holds out the
prospect for immigrants to live in
freedom in a Jewish state, and as
long as life in the USSR is
financially and socially difficult for
Jews, they will continue to arrive
in Israel with luggage packed with
hopes and dreams.

Soviet Jews continued to emigrate to Israel by the tens of thousands. Temporary housing like these "caravans" is being built but employment is a major problem.

34

FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 6, 1991

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