Out Of The Shadows
Loyal But Divided
Metro Detroit's Jewish
Assisted Living Community
Soviet youth in Israel feel a tug between two homelands.
JUDITH SUDILOVSKY
Special to the Jewish News
Jerusalem
he Soviet youth who arrived here
some 10 years ago with their
parents serve in Israel's army, use the
latest Hebrew slang, listen to Israeli
music and carry mobile phones just
like other Israelis. But, they say, they
still carry Russia in their heart.
Larisa Kagan, who was 11 when
she moved here from Ukraine with
her mother in 1992, is typical.
"Clearly, I am an Israeli," she said.
"I have lived here for so many years,
and it is hard for me to imagine
myself being somewhere else, and
I feel Israeli. But it is an Israeli-
Ina Oreter, left, and her boyfriend Daniel
Russian combination."
Zeitlin discuss upcoming university exams in
Among the more than
his parents home in Jerusalem.
800,000 immigrants from the
former Soviet Union in the last
decade, nearly a quarter were
children under age 17. Now they
are beginning to reach adult-
hood, to hold jobs, serve in the
military and vote in elections.
Their attitudes toward Israel and
Judaism, as well as their ties to
their Soviet Union past, are
expected to be important factors
T
L to R: John Hamburger, Owner;
Marcia Mittelman, Executive Director; Richard Fink, Owner
Our mission at Elan Village is to provide
affordable, quality and individualized care
to our Jewish older adults
in a warm, family-like atmosphere.
Elan Village's monthly rate includes:
• 24 hour Personal Care Assistance
• Three Kosher Meals Daily
• Housekeeping and Personal Laundry
Services
• Social, Cultural and Educational
Programs Daily
• On-Site Licensed Nurse and Medical
Services
• Medication Management
Dementia & Temporary Care Also Available
Call today to schedule a tour
JANET ANTIN (248) 386-0303
26051 Lahser Road • Southfield, Michigan 48034
Elan Village provides
Care that Changes with You
2/25
2000
10
Preferred Provider of the Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Detroit
in shaping civil society here.
Though they arrived in Israel while
they were still young and speak
Hebrew with barely a trace of an
accent, in interviews, most of the
immigrants said they still feel more
comfortable with those like themselves.
They said they tend to form their clos-
est social ties with other children of
Soviet immigrants, speaking a curious
mixture of Hebrew and Russian.
"I work with Israelis, and I study
biology at the university and my
friends are equally divided between
Israelis and Russians, but my best
friends are Russians," said Ina Oreter,
20, who arrived in 1990 from
Life in Detroit
Jewish practice varies among students from former Soviet Union.
HARRY KIRSBAUM
Staff Writer
M
ax Burgman is a typical 16-year-
old. He has plenty of friends,
plays on the Berkley High School foot-
ball team, wrestles, weight lifts, throws
shot put and the discus.
When he came here nine years ago
with his parents and grandmother from
Belarus, his challenge was figuring out
how to fit in.
The hardest part was "realizing how
to behave myself," he said. His athletic
ability helped him make friends, and
most of them today were born here.
"I am very much an American,
but I don't feel it dictates all my
actions because I know I have
Harry Kirsbaum can be reached at
(248) 354-6060, ext. 244, or by e-mail
at hkirsbaum@theiewishnews.corn
Russian and Jewish heritage," he said.
Max — not overtly religious, yet tied
to his Jewish heritage — is in the mid-
dle of a wide range of Russian-born stu-
dents living in the Detroit area. What
happens to these teenagers, once
removed from Russian anti-religious
sentiment and placed into total religious
freedom, may depend on their own
- beliefs, the influence of their family and
friends, or a combination of factors.
Burgman's mother and father aren't
that religious, but he said he went to
services at Temple Beth El and
Temple Emanu-El for a while. The
extent of his Jewish education was
afternoon school for a couple of years
at Congregation Beth Shalom.
"In Belarus, I knew I was Jewish,
and that was the extent of it," he said.
Max isn't involved in any Jewish
organization now, but said he partici-
pated in the Maccabi Games two