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Activities
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Between Revival and Assimilation — Jewry in the Commonwealth of the Independent States (CIS- Former Soviet Union )
Mr. Tzvi Magen Mr. Magen represents an institution that specialized in designing and influencing the process, but was not necessarily involved in analyzing the community. The Commonwealth of the Independent States is not a homogenous unit; it is comprised of fifteen nations with a vast array of differences between them. At the end of the 1980s, there was no such thing as the Jewish community of the Soviet Union ; nevertheless this topic engrossed all of world Jewry. One of our tasks is to encourage aliyah , while persuading people to participate in local community life is not among our priorities. The community is comprised of its populace and institutions. Statistically speaking , there are some 1,000,000 people — not all of whom are exactly Jews — who are eligible for Israeli citizenship under the Law of Return, (who we hope will ultimately reach Israel ). About one million immigrated to the West and a million, perhaps a little more, made aliyah . Those who have stayed essentially constitute a homogenous population. Most of them reside in the cities, primarily the capitals, and are highly active members of their local communities. However, they are not necessarily involved in Jewish frameworks; in Mr. Magen's opinion no more than 15% take part in Jewish activities. In fact, the intermarriage rate has reached 60%-70%. They are members of the upper classes and fill official functions in all these countries. Most of them have a positive attitude towards the State of Israel, but do not necessarily identify themselves as Jews. They live there for personal reasons and enjoy the window of opportunity that has fallen on their laps. Compared to other Jewish communities in the Diaspora , these communities organize their communal life in a completely different manner, as both local and foreign organizations play a role. "Local organizations" refers to those groups founded by the local Jewish community since the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1989. Subsequently, about 800 organizations have been established: there are about 473 registered organizations in Russia alone; and some 260 in the Ukraine . They are not necessarily national organizations, as some are highly specific in scope, while others maintain broader agendas. Over the course of the 1990s, the organizations began uniting under umbrella groups, and, since 2001, organizations have been created that operate across borders. The heads of these organizations are usually well-to-do and hold public positions. They are also willing to represent the Jewish community before local governments or international forums. (They are occasionally referred to as the "oligarchy" or "tycoons." Even if this is an exaggeration, there is no doubt that they are extremely rich.) As aforementioned, they are mostly active on the political/representational stage and do not necessarily take an interest in purely Jewish -communal activities!!! From this short survey, we will proceed to a description of the external organizations. The moment the walls came down various internationally-oriented organizations entered the Soviet Union . In the past, the struggle on behalf of the Jews of the Soviet Union engendered a sense of unity. However, the goodwill has been replaced with struggles between the different organizations and infighting within individual organizations. While each of these organizations wants to help the Jewish community, they concomitantly seek to advance their own specific agendas. These factors have given rise to a division between internal organizations, which are involved in politics and representation, and the external organizations, which in practice ran community life (such as its religious affairs). The external organizations include the Joint, the World Jewish Congress, the Jewish Agency, Chabad, ORT, and many others. Their contributions to community life are considerable, as for all intents and purposes they established the community. As is the case in all Jewish communities throughout the world, local people are now also attempting to snatch up these jobs. To these two systems (internal and external) we must add the population itself, for whom religious, philanthropic and educational systems, as well as local Jewish newspapers and media, have been founded. The members themselves have displayed very little interest in all these activities (we have already mentioned that only15% participate). To make matters worse, the competition between the internal organizations deters Jews from participating or identifying with the objectives of any particular organization. A vast amount of Jewish money flows in from abroad to fund these activities (and this is also a factor). Another aspect of the activities of the local organizations is their activities abroad, in the West and Israel , primarily concerning the Russian-speaking Jewish communities dispersed throughout the world. In addition to these three pillars of the Jewish population, I must point out that an effort is currently underway to establish a new international body: a sort of world-wide federation of Russian-speaking Jewish communities. This undertaking is unprecedented in the Jewish world. The Russian authorities are highly supportive of this project of "the children of the motherland." Moreover, there is talk of establishing a World Congress of Russian-Speaking Jews, which has spurred on a considerable amount of competition. On the local level, anti-Semitism as a policy of state has disappeared, and the authorities are encouraging the continued development of the Jewish communities, as opposed to aliyah or immigration. That said, we are also witnessing a wave of nationalism and a marked increase in the influence of anti-Jewish, Islamic factors. To conclude , the existing trends seem to point to both the strengthening of the community as well as its eventual extinction. The latter is largely due to a negative demographic balance (a mortality rate that exceeds the birthrate, more negative immigration than additions to the community , and high levels of assimilation). On the other hand, the community is vibrant, and the local organizations are gradually pushing aside the external organizations. The Jews thus find themselves at a crossroads. Naturally, this situation is malleable, and we must maintain our vigilance in order to ensure the desired results. Prof. Mordechai Altshuler Today we are dealing with fifteen countries with Jewish communities and not one nation (the Soviet Union ) as in the past. In each country, the Jews obviously have their own distinct problems. Prof. Altshuler does not necessarily refer to the Jews and Jewish activities within the context of immigration or aliyah , but depicts those Jews who view the former-Soviet Union to be their future home. The following three issues will be underscored:
a. The Surrounding Environment : We can only hope to understand the situation of the Jews by familiarizing ourselves with the greater society to which they belong. All the countries that we have mentioned consider themselves national states, which are striving to forge renewed national identities. Accordingly, the Jews also view themselves as the Jews of Russia, Jews of the Ukraine , etc., and not as the Jews of the Soviet Union . Nevertheless, from a linguistic-cultural standpoint, they belong to a Russian environment. The situation, then, is two-dimensional: while they consider themselves the Jews of a particular republic, they also feel a certain bond to the Jews in the other republics. Religion is one of the new components of identity. Occasionally attending church or mosque has become an acceptable option, and the Jews likewise visit the synagogue (there in the former Soviet-Union , as opposed to those who have made aliyah or have immigrated). In other words, activities that were prohibited twenty years ago are now a natural part of daily life. A survey that was conducted in Poland , Italy , and Belgium by a researcher from the Institute for Jewish Policy Research found that Jewish culture in the field of entertainment and theater constitutes part of the culture of the majority society, but there is hardly any link between this phenomenon and Jewish identity. For the most part, Jewish music, Israeli songs, plays, etc. are presented by non-Jewish artists to large non-Jewish audiences . Furthermore, there are courses, study programs, and research available in the field of Jewish studies, including on the academic level. Non-Jewish audiences attend these activities, as ethnic topics — an area that until recently was prohibited — are now in vogue. Moreover, individuals involved in these fields occasionally attract handsome sums. The authorities have exhibited a favorable attitude to the development of these topics (such as, the Baltic countries). In each of the CIS states, the interest in Jewish topics is motivated by the notion — real or imagined — that the Jews are powerful and the need to attain the political support of the Jewish tycoons. The approval of the curriculum "On the Holocaust and its Lessons" in some of the republics is indicative of these changes. b. Jewish Activity These activities are dependent on three factors: 1. activists, 2. funding, 3. consumers/audience. Activists . Many Jews contributed to Jewish activities both before and after the collapse of the Soviet Union, and the number of organizations that they established has gradually burgeoned (in Moscow there is an entire book dedicated to listing the organizations , and it also includes about 200 Jewish newspapers and journals). To this we must add the organizations from abroad, not to mention the admirable operations of Nativ both within the ex-Soviet Union and the West. All these activities can not be surveyed in one sitting, so we will pause for a discussion on the schools, due to the importance on the future. Every Jewish community runs some sort of Jewish educational institute (a school or supplementary education institute). The majority of the schools are quite small, with one teacher for every 7-10 pupils. Each school is allocated with a budget that is definitely sufficient. That said , no more than 5% to 7% of the children receive some form of Jewish education. Despite the large budgets , the Jewish schools are unfortunately sub-par and lacking in prestige. Consequently, even Jewish activists and teachers do not send their children to the Jewish schools. Due to the wide range of activities, people have not paid much attention to the assimilation process. Even if we accept the determination that a Jew is a person with at least one Jewish parent (eschewing the conditions stipulated by halacha or the Law of Return), only a fraction of the Jewish population participates in Jewish activities. Mixed marriages are obviously the prime inducer of assimilation . A recently published study by Ms. E lena Nosenko on the families of mixed couples reached the following conclusions: 35% of the children defined themselves exclusively as Russians; 20% stated that they occasionally feel Jewish; and only 11% defined themselves unequivocally as Jews (as mentioned above, the study is on the children of mixed marriages). To conclude, the Jewish communities in all the states of the ex-Soviet Union may be divided into two groups. The first group consists of people integrated into Jewish communal life and who are slowly becoming more committed to the community. Correspondingly, the second group feels estranged from the Jewish community and is moving further and further away. The average member of the first group is much older than his counterpart in the second group. Therefore, we must formulate new strategies with which to attract the members of the younger group. I wish to reiterate the fact that this discussion does not pertain to those who wish to immigrate. We have focused our attention on those Jews that wish to stay put. It must also be noted that the circumstances of each group are entirely different. Prof. Michael Chlenov ( Moscow ) The fact is that the Jewish community in the ex-Soviet Union exists, despite the fact that more than a few people scoffed at such a possibility. Since the early 1990s and the arrival of the external factors, Jewish life has arise from the ashes. In fact , the Ukraine and Russian are currently among the largest Jewish communities in the world. Prof. Chlenov criticizes the fact that the authorities in Israel do not recognize the Judaism of many of the olim from the former Soviet Union . This is one of the factors that has led to a decrease in the amount of people inquiring about aliyah . In the former Soviet Union , a person with one Jewish parent is welcomed into the community and is even accepted if only one of the grandparents was a Jew. It is very disappointing to reveal that so many difficulties are stacked against the olim upon their arrival to Israel . In response to the president's question, Chlenov states that the situation in Israel is well known throughout the former Soviet Union , and even if it is not the only factor, these hardships definitely have an effect on the number of olim . He agrees that there are roughly one-million people currently eligible for Israeli citizenship according to the Law of Return. As mentioned above, the Ukraine and Russia each have over 100,000 Jews. There is a reasonable chance of conducting Jewish life in communities of about 50,000 Jews, such as Kazakhstan , Uzbekistan , Azerbaijan , Moldavia , and Belarus . The Baltic communities are small yet stable, and they are increasingly turning to the West, as opposed to the former Soviet Union . There are question marks concerning the future of the Jewish communities in some of the republics, such as Armenia and Georgia . Meanwhile, countries such as Tajikistan and Turkmenistan face colossal difficulties. Over the past ten years, substantial efforts were made to integrate these communities with Europe , but these plans did not pan out. It turns out that the communities of the former-Soviet Union have their own character and a unique identity: a national identity, not a national-religious one — the same identity that nurtured the Zionist movement a hundred years ago. One must admit that the State of Israel did not rise from the type of Judaism that exists today in the United States or Europe . Today there is a new Jewish region that is referred to as Euro-Asia. Besides the Jewish communities of the Soviet Union, there are additional Jewish communities in the region that do not belong to other parts of the world: Australia , New-Zealand, the Philippines , and India . This development has a reasonable chance of succeeding . Some of these communities maintain special relations with the Muslim world as well as intimate ties to the State of Israel. The communities in the former Soviet Union have family and friends living in Israel , a relationship that few other communities in the world can claim. This bond stems from their geographic proximity and daily correspondences with personal acquaintances and relatives. These communities are Israel 's closest and firmest allies. Notwithstanding the decline in aliyah , let us not forget that even today over 30% of the aliyah arrives from the countries of the former Soviet Union .
Q - What is Nativ’s current role in the extensive system that has been presented before us, especially in all that concerns the Jewish schools? A - Mr. Magen briefly touches on the topic of the school network. Today, there are some 230 schools that are supported by Israel. Schools that belong to the network must meet the minimum standards—the standards of the State of Israel. Those schools that refuse to accept these conditions are precluded from the network. Q - The official Jewish communities in Germany have decided to only accept those immigrants that are Halachically Jewish. Why, then, do Jews who do not fall under this category continue to immigrate to Germany? A - Prof. Chlenov answers that this wave of emigration developed in the 1990s, before the establishment of these guidelines. The emigration of Jews to Germany is not motivated by any sort of ideology or desire to unite with their people in their homeland, but is spurred on by economic and material motives. In light of the above-mentioned restrictions, today non-Halachic Jews obviously have problems immigrating to Germany. Q – Should Israel develop ties with Russian-speaking Jews that turned Israel down and immigrated to other countries? A - Mr. Magen replies that the State of Israel is obligated to foster such ties, and indeed operates in this fashion. We are a Zionist country and we still hope to draw these one million Jews to Israel. We are thus committed to keeping open the lines of communication with these Jews. Q - Have there been changes in the intermarriage rate as a result of the big aliyah, and what effect has the Law of Return had on this issue? A - Prof. Chlenov doesn’t see a connection between the Law of Return and mixed marriages. To our regret, this trend is steadily intensifying throughout the Jewish communities in the Diaspora, as the number of “pure” Jews is steadily falling. Consequently, we must tackle this issue in an entirely new way. Prof. Altshuler adds that Jews in the ex-Soviet Union have a very hard time finding a Jewish spouse, and therefore we needn’t be surprised that the rate of intermarriage has reached 70% to 75%, if not more. Obviously, there is no connection whatsoever between the Law of Return and these figures. The Law of Return is an internal Israeli problem, with both political and social ramifications. Israel will have to reach a decision on its own because the Jews of the ex-Soviet Union have made it abundantly clear that they do not consider it to be a problem of their own.
A decade after the gates to the former Soviet Union were opened to aliyah , we must ponder and evaluate what has transpired there until now; and whether the time has come to implement changes in our strategies concerning our activities in these nations, as well as in Israel and the other Jewish communities of the Diaspora. One question worthy of our attention is whether the processes that led to the blossoming of the Zionist movement and the founding of the State of Israel were eradicated by the communist regime, or perhaps these ideas still influence the Jews living in the states that were established after the collapse of the Soviet Union . The community numbered some 3,000,000 at the time of the collapse of the Soviet Union , but since then one million have made aliyah , and about million are dispersed throughout the world, leaving the community with roughly one million members. The vitality of Soviet Jewry was expressed by its resolute struggle against the regime, and some of the fighters grace us with their presence here in the auditorium. The regime ultimately collapsed, but for many years it brutally repressed all forms of Jewish life ; the Jewish struggle under these circumstances is indeed worthy of praise. Their aliyah , which consisted of a million people, changed the face of Israel and contributed to its development and prosperity. We must help cultivate the communal life of the Jews who remain and confront the severe assimilation that is whittling away at this community and other Jewish communities the world over. Action must be taken in Israel as well. In the president's opinion, a soldier's conscription to the IDF should automatically secure him (or her) and his parents with Israeli citizenship, regardless of his parents' outlook or religion. President Katzav is aware of the fact that there are also voices in the government that share these sentiments . Similarly, an effort must be made to assuage the conversion process and the president has received some positive feedback on this matter from Orthodox rabbis. Such measures would certainly make the absorption process more congenial. I do not wish to underestimate the phenomenon of anti-Semitism. It is true that it does not exist from an official standpoint and that the leadership is trying to overcome the negative trends. However, a wave of nationalism is gaining momentum in the countries that rose up in place of the Soviet Union . There are fears that latent, classic anti-Semitism is reawakening as a consequence of the deterioration of international values. Nevertheless, positive sentiments are also being expressed. Besides for its respect for "Jewish power" and its ostensible dominance over the world press, many new countries admire the manner in which Israel —established only in 1948 — has succeeded and developed. For example the president of Ukraine told him that he was astonished by the revival of the Hebrew language. The president also wishes to broach the issue of the establishment of a second institution near the Knesset that will be assigned with the authority over topics that pertain to the entire Jewish people: such as global anti-Semitism, halachic conversions, and Jewish education. It is only appropriate that we consult with world Jewry over topics that pertain to the entire nation of Israel . An expanded version of the discussion, including the audience's questions and speakers' responses, will soon be available in a book on the discussions of the circles that convene in the President's Residence ( Zionist Library Press ).
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