Germany Over Israel: The Ultimate Irony
Israel is one of the least safest place for Jews to live in these days. A recent article (see comments for full text) in the Jerusalem Post points to the fact that Jewish immigration from the former Soviet Union to Germany is larger than to Israel:
Hundreds of thousands of Jews have flocked to Germany since 1991, when Germany modified its refugee policies to accommodate Jews fleeing anti-Semitism and economic upheaval in the FSU. Under its Contingent Refugee Act, Germany supplies Jewish immigrants with benefits including language courses, unemployment benefits, health coverage, pensions and even rent, in accordance with a State treaty administered through the Central Council of Jews in Germany meant to reflect the nation’s “historic responsibility” to make amends for its Nazi past.
Under this Act, Germany took in a total of 19,262 Jewish immigrants from the Former Soviet republics in 2002, while Israel took in 18,878.
The Chairman of the Jewish Agency, Sallai Meridor, doesn’t seem to be too excited about these news:
“The German government is enticing Jews to emigrate from the Former Soviet Union to Germany under refugee status, despite the fact that the State of Israel has already existed for over 56 years… The government of Israel must take serious steps to counter Germany since this situation drastically affects immigration to Israel.”
Meridor doesn’t like the fact the Jews are living better in Germany. Maybe this is the Zionist version of the paradox of Anti-Semitism. In any case, it is obvious that what Meridor is really talking about is demographic “problem”, a racist and alienating term for a prophecy that will fulfil itself, used by almost all Jewish politicians in Israel from Right and Left, when talking about the Palestinian-Arab minority.
whats the article say.
Let us not forget that “messianics” biggest demographic are these russian jews who move to germany and brighton beach. They take advantage of a christian state to further their mission to convert massive amounts of jews, who by virtue of their social and political circumstances, are only beginning to realize their connection to their ancestral tradition. Is there any money going for Aliyah recruitment in Germany?
Full article:
Jerusalem Post 05-21-2004
Headline: Agency head: Germany shouldn’t entice Jews
Byline: JENNY HAZAN
Edition; Daily
Section: News
Page: 07
Friday, May 21, 2004 — During his presentation on current issues affecting Israel and the Jewish world to the Knesset Immigration and Absorption Committee last week, Chairman of the Jewish Agency Sallai Meridor slammed the German government for enticing Jews to immigrate to Germany under refugee status.
“The German government is enticing Jews to emigrate from the Former Soviet Union to Germany under refugee status, despite the fact that the State of Israel has already existed for over 56 years,” said Meridor, who was infuriated by recently released figures indicating that around 19,000 Jews immigrated to Germany from the FSU in 2003, as opposed to only 12,000 who came to Israel in the same year. “The government of Israel must take serious steps to counter Germany since this situation drastically affects immigration to Israel.”
“No matter what we do we will be criticized,” a representative from the German Embassy in Tel Aviv responded to Meridor’s attack. “If we don’t welcome Jews with open arms we will be accused of anti-Semitism and if we do welcome them with open arms, we are accused of enticing them away from Israel,” he said. “Mr. Meridor’s position is understandable. We don’t want to hinder Jews from going to Israel. But if you want to have a favorable atmosphere for Jews in Germany, you have to accept that Jews will choose to live there.”
Hundreds of thousands of Jews have flocked to Germany since 1991, when Germany modified its refugee policies to accommodate Jews fleeing anti-Semitism and economic upheaval in the FSU. Under its Contingent Refugee Act, Germany supplies Jewish immigrants with benefits including language courses, unemployment benefits, health coverage, pensions and even rent, in accordance with a State treaty administered through the Central Council of Jews in Germany meant to reflect the nation’s “historic responsibility” to make amends for its Nazi past.
Under this Act, Germany took in a total of 19,262 Jewish immigrants from the Former Soviet republics in 2002, while Israel took in 18,878.
According to a spokesperson from the Jewish Agency, Germany’s policy, which requires newcomers to be spread among Germany’s 12 federal states in accordance with a numerical formula to share financial burden, is detrimental because it scatters the Jewish immigrants among more than 80 different towns across Germany, rather than allowing them to join major Jewish communities in cities such as Berlin, Frankfurt, and Munich. “Only about 50 percent of the Jews who emigrate to Germany become part of the Jewish community,” he said.
“Germany doesn’t care if the Jews who go there live a Jewish life; they just want to be able to say at the end of the 21st century that they have more Jews than they did before the Holocaust.”
“The more favorable the conditions of a country, the more attracted Jews will be to live there,” the German Embassy official dismissed the notion that Germany is trying to recreate its pre-war Jewish community. “Of course we want the State of Israel to keep its character. But, we also want Jews to feel as though they have a home in Germany.”
Keywords:
Copyright 2004 Jerusalem Post. All Rights Reserved
HighBeam Research, LLC. ? Copyright 2004. All rights reserved.
I also think this isn’t good news. Why flee to Germany? If we have a country, and we are trying to keep it strong, we need all the people we can get. Essentially, people will arrive in Germany, learn the language, the culture etc and assimilate. Granted, it’s their choice, but doesn’t seem like a positive thing in terms of continuity of our culture or faith.
remember – a value for the sake of a value is worthless.
i think you’ve mis-stated: it doesn’t say that “Jewish immigration to Germany is larger than to Israel,” it says the immigration of Jews from the FSU to Germany is greater
“In any case, it is obvious that what Meridor is really talking about is demographic “problem”, a racist and alienating term for a prophecy that will fulfil itself, used by almost all Jewish politicians in Israel from Right and Left, when talking about the Palestinian-Arab minority.”
While it seems that you tout “the demographic problem” quite often, it is also neccesary to show that you’ve adopted the very tactics you claim to abhor. In an effort to show the “ultimate irony” you’ve effectively dragged an otherwised textured relationship between The German People and The Jewish People to mean something more effectively discussed at a dinner party between George Mosse and Hannah Arendt. Not only is this deeply embedded connection filled with the very complexity you ignore, but I think it’s fairly easy to show the real reason that Russian would-be olim go to Germany.
It is because they can find a job and not worry when their teenage children want to go to a cafe. Moreover, you also ignore a true Israeli prejudice against the Russian Olim. Rather, you pull the same tactics that The National Religious Party and Shinui both use. As Uri Avneri recently wrote, it used to be that the Right was only allowed to warn against a next Holocaust, but now the Left, and Asaf (the sweet iconoclast)has effectively shown that Israel’s narrative is really an extension of Germany’s own historical burdens. Rather than this, I think its much more effective not to coopt Israel’s demography in a discussion about Russian Aliyah cut short by a natural human being’s tendency to avoid getting blown up.
I think we should care a little bit more about Russian Jews who have lost their traditions in the wake of history and less about how their move to Germany affects Israel’s relationship with the Palestinians. If one was to peruse any anti-Israel site on the internet they would remark constantly about Russian-Jewish soldiers at Checkpoints speaking in broken Hebrew to Arabic speaking residents of the Territories. We should be concerned not for Zionism and its (dis)contents but also for Jewishness and those Olim who are struggling to cultivate it in the wake of a history of pogroms, discrimination, and economic shambles.
The solution – perhaps our efforts in alleviating the demography of The Jewish State should start with schooling Russian Jews in Germany in the Progressive Zionism that so many of us embrace. Even you, Asaf, say
“remember – a value for the sake of a value is worthless.”
True my friend, perhaps building the State of Israel with Russian Jews is a value we should have for the sake of our conscience, and not our politics.
>but doesn’t seem like a positive thing in terms of continuity of our culture or faith.
i want to agree with you here…but history has proven otherwise. i mean, we are still here after thousands of years in exile.
when i was in israel, i met a guy who was origionally from america. he told a story that as far as judaism goes, his family was more religious in the u.s, but when they moved to israel, his father told him that the things they used to do they no longer needed to do the little observances they used to because everyone was jewish in israel (don’t remember the details, but it was along those lines).
it seems that sometimes, in exile, some feel they need to show pride in our differences by being more observant, but when they are in a more homogeneous setting, don’t find it as important…ex. what are the chances of a jew marrying a non-jew in israel..despite going to hebrew school or not.(the big concern of many jewish parents – raison d’etre maybe).
i am wondering how wide spread those feelings are. are we more torah observant outside of the state of israel than in => that is what it is about, isn’t it.
eli – i brought up the issue of demographic problem because that is my analysis of meridor’s remarks. i am sorry – i dont think meridor gives a shit about russian jews. I havent narrowed the complexity of the problem to the demographic problem but showed that this is the underlying prinicple motivating meridor. i think it makes sense if u listen to the theme repeating behind any talk about immigration in israel.
There is no need to be sorry. I think there are ways in which we can infer that Meridor links the demographics of Israel with Russian Jews emigrating to Germany. The connection is clear on a number of levels.
First, Meridor’s reaction to Russian Jews in Germany is one that invigorates his Betar Shaliach past. That is, he believes that the defense of Israel is paramount to other concerns and so the arrival of Russian olim serve purposes that transcend humanistic Zionism. These purposes, most likely in the context of the military situation, are real. This connects to my previous post on Russian Jewish soldiers in the army. After researching his past, it seems Meridor’s eyes are closely fixed on Russian Jew’s being /for/ Israel, rather than of it. His motivations may be warped in my opinion, but I admire his vigorous efforts that have resulted in hordes American and Argentinian olim. This is where I think that your claims he “doesn’t gives a shit about russian jews” is incorrect.
He does, in fact, give a shit. I think we can both agree that the motivations behind his efforts are less than admirable.
In regards to your remarks about the so called “demographic problem” I think that one first needs to address the root of this terminology.
First, it seems that demography has been the root of this conflict. The idea that preserving Israel as a characteristically Jewish state is pretty malleable. It is as malleable as Turkey being a Turkish state, and Russia being a Russian state. We find that as long as these states are exhibiting a sense of rule that represents the majority and gives equal status to minorites, the soul of their characteristic as Russian or Turkish isn’t compromised. As you obviously know, Turkey and Russia have a long history of abusing their minorities – as do most of the sovereign nations on this earth. Our task for Israel and The US is to counter these negative traditions. I expect no less from Palestine, when it is created. I don’t see the Jewish majority in Israel as a problem, but an obligation – just as allowing Palestinians a majority in their state is not a problem, but an obligation. Therefore, this “inherently racist” language we use is something more indicative of the current violence than anything else.
Therefore, to coopt the issues of olim into a criticism of racist language is more lazy than it is effective.
Asaf, the term demographic “problem” is not racist. It doesn’t make sense for a Jewish state to have a Jewish minority!
Wait, you mean the head of the Jewish Agency for Israel actually wants Jews to move to Israel? And that more FSU Jews choosing Germany than Israel is something he views as a failure? And even — gasp — that there is something Zionist about all this?
Shocking, I know. That said, getting our panties all in a bunch about the faint whisper of the phrase demographic problem is kind of idiotic. Yes, it’s an issue; it should be. In every country where the national majority becomes a national minority, it has been — it raises the question of the cultural responsibilities of the state.
Google says there are a few countries where this is actually the case. Among which Andorra, Kazakhstan, Latvia, and should-be-countries like Tibet. (Well, some people think it should be a country. Others think that’s, I don’t know, Zionist. I mean, racist. Whatever. Incidentally, Google also coughed up something called the Unrepresented Nations and Peoples Organisation, which seems to be a whole organisation dedicated to spreading evil Zionist ideas throughout the world. Madness! Clearly they are crazy.)
Anyhow, I guess the interesting thing about Andorra, Latvia, Kazakhstan, and their counterparts is what they actually do about ethnic Andorrans, ethnic Lavians, ethnic Kazakhs, etc being minorities. (Or what Free Tibet activists seem to want the Tibetan government to do, for that matter.) It seems to involve adopting and reinforcing the Catalan or Latvian languages and a bunch of other things.
Is that what Israel should be thinking about in the event of a Jewish minority? It’s worth thinking about. (That is, unless Israel is the nutty creation of insipid Zionism which should be dismantled posthaste. In which case, all questions of policy are of course irrelevant.)
mm slick brother. We chant em down. We chant em down.
Then Mr. Meridor should resign immediately for failure to bring Jews to Israel.
The numbers are very misleading. 18,878 people immigrated from the FSU, not 18,878 Jews. Past reports by the media convey that since a few years ago, more than half of the yearly immigration is not Jewish at all.
This ‘demographic’ myth is quite racist and Mr. Meridor thinks he can solve the problem by bringing in more white people. LOL.
Actually, quite sad.
8opus – dont twist the simple facts. meridor isnt looking at israel as a failure, but points his arrrows at germany. Read his quote again: “The German government is enticing Jews to emigrate from the Former Soviet Union to Germany under refugee status, despite the fact that the State of Israel has already existed for over 56 years… The government of Israel must take serious steps to counter Germany since this situation drastically affects immigration to Israel.”
Rediculous.
you totally misunderstood my point about the demographic threat. i dotn think there is such a threat at all. and even if there is a demographic shift, it wont be a threat unless we treat it the way we treat it now. but that was not the point of my argument.
whoever responded – let me restate my post. i shouldnt have focused on the demographic issue, that was just one point i wanted to bring up. actually the funniest thing about it is so obvious i simply didnt mention it – the most prosperous jewish communities are simply not in israel. and they dotn even have merkaba 4.
dont twist the simple facts. meridor isnt looking at israel as a failure, but points his arrrows at germany. Um, yeah: more FSU Jews headed to Germany than to Israel, or to any other country. Meridor was reacting to that statistic. Where else should he point his arrows, exactly? Tajikistan?
actually the funniest thing about it is so obvious i simply didnt mention it – the most prosperous jewish communities are simply not in israel. and they dotn even have merkaba 4. Yes. Similarly, the most prosperous national communities of Nigerians, Tanzanians, Turks, Latvians, and Portuguese are outside of their respective nation-states. Which of these countries would you like to eliminate first?
Josh: This ‘demographic’ myth is quite racist — not sure I understood. Which part is a myth? Similarly, Asaf, you’ve lost me: dotn think there is such a threat at all. and even if there is a demographic shift, it wont be a threat unless we treat it the way we treat it now: what are the policy implications of the coming Arab majority in a future Republic of Israel located next to a Republic of Palestine? Are there any?
The countries I mention above have all put quite a lot of time into the matter, in other words. I don’t really follow what you’re saying: do you think Andorra and Kazakhstan are incorrect for having thought about this? Are Latvia’s policies promoting the use of the Latvian language racist, as you like to put it?
+Um, yeah: more FSU Jews headed to Germany than to Israel, or to any other country. Meridor was reacting to that statistic. Where else should he point his arrows, exactly? Tajikistan” — no no no i was referring to the fact that meridor attacked germany, and was not, like u tried to show, trying to figure out whats wrong with his own country (that is, why arent more jews coming to israel? who cares, lets blame the germans for giving the jews a better life there).
“Yes. Similarly, the most prosperous national communities of Nigerians, Tanzanians, Turks, Latvians, and Portuguese are outside of their respective nation-states. Which of these countries would you like to eliminate first?” Eliminate? calm down brother. who is talking about eliminating?
the problem with the “demographic problem” in israel is that instead of treating the arab citizens as part of the discourse and the country, they are talked about as a problem. moreover, the state’s project to ensure its majority is at times disgusting (note the aesthetic judgment – such in cases of meridor’s comment) and at times immoral (1948 ethnic cleansing for instance).
A more effective way to detail with any demography is simply to embrace the minority as active part of the society, treating them as equals and not as a threat. thus, if the day comes and they will be a majority (which i really doubt) they will not be a hostile minority-turned-majority after years of prejudice.
So, really Asaf, this is more about your identification with the Palestinian cause for, i dunno, “equality” “liberation” “freedom” “emancipation” as a whole rather than a nuanced approach to the analyzing the arguments that 8opus outlined?
8opus has a very good point. Rather than lamenting the language we use to describe a Palestinian birthrate that is 3 times as large as the Jewish one, you should rather argue an end to the occupation which, in your opinion, in inherently anti-Israel because it endangers the existence of a Jewish majority in land under Israeli control. In terms of integrating the Arab population within the 67 lines, I agree with you, those who choose to live in Israel after, G-d willing, a Palestinian state is created, are still Israeli citizens. The focus is far to narrow – Israel’s problems are inherently unique unless you take the position that every other fragile country on earth is a little Zionist project.
“no no no i was referring to the fact that meridor attacked germany, and was not, like u tried to show, trying to figure out whats wrong with his own country (that is, why arent more jews coming to israel? who cares, lets blame the germans for giving the jews a better life there).”
I think the Russians are more inclined to blame the Palestinians for blowing up Jewish people, not Meridor because he’s angry at Germany for enticing Jews with their human rights (i.e. not blowing up, a job) Many of the early Zionists you hate were Russian Communists who were radicalized by the pogroms that struck their communities. I doubt that the Russian-Jewish ethic has changed so drastically in the wake of 2 intifadas and the own antisemitism they’ve endured. If you think these Russian olim have the same perspective as a Sartre than your naivete floats above the cream on my borscht.
And in terms of your claim that Jews are more prosperous outside Israel – I thought you thought beyond cash, my friend. Sure, there are rich Jewish people in America – but most can’t speak hebrew, they don’t know tu bshevat from lag b’omer, tefillin from their knishes. They are rich Jews with christmas trees. So prosperous.
eli who talked about money when talking about prosperous? thinking of me as someone who went 9 years to orthodox school and still feels like so many people in israel, alienated from judaism.
you have a good point about the russians. but the question remains – what are the goals of zionism and are they successful? it seems that and armed jewish community isnt a great solution after all (or any armed community).
Eliminate? calm down brother. who is talking about eliminating? Anti-Zionists.
Unless, of course, I’ve misunderstood the idea. It sounded like you were saying (1) that nation-states were bad, especially (2) when they failed to guarantee greater prosperity at home than abroad.
Or does that argument apply only to Israel, and to no other country?
A more effective way to detail with any demography is simply to embrace the minority as active part of the society, treating them as equals and not as a threat. To be frank, this is both obvious and not an effective way to deal with anyone — it’s empty rhetoric.
Concretely, what do you do? Imagine, as I suggested, a Republic of Israel next to a Republic of Palestine. Now imagine that Jews are a minority in Israel.
What should the official language of Israel be? What relationship to the Jewish people and culture? Should immigration policy continue to give a “right of return” to Jews, as other countries do (to the corresponding ethnic groups, I mean, not to Jews)? Generally, does Andorra (Kazakhstan, Latvia) have the right idea on this?
These are questions we’re going to have to face. We can either bleat generalities, or actually bother thinking about them.
the question remains – what are the goals of zionism and are they successful? Lots of Zionist movements have had lots of different goals, obviously; the only thing really uniting them has been the desire to see the Jewish people enter the modern community of nation-states.
As to whether or not they’ve been successful, though, I think you’re into a wider question as to the success of the Israeli state as a project altogether. Like most countries, there are lots of problems. One option is to try and fix them. Another is to crow about the impossibility of fixing them, give up, and move on.
“eli who talked about money when talking about prosperous?”
I think you would be hard pressed to say that Jewish communities in America and other democracies are prosperous if you disregard their general economic success. As a Jewish youth who grew up modern orthodox in the postindustrial mess called connecticut, attended talmud torah,and went 12 years to urban public schools I can say that the only thing many Jewish families use to measure their comparative success is economics. This is true of many second and third generation Jewish-Americans. Across the spectrum of denominations, from modern orthodox to secular, Judaism (let alone Zionism) is most overshadowed by the materialism that engulfs much of this society. Hence Urban Outfitters putting dollar signs on “Everybody Loves a Jewish Girl” T-shirts. You would be surprised how many cute little Jewish girls still do and will wear that shirt proudly. So if you didn’t suggest that money=prosperity in the historical narrative of American Jewry, then I did.
“thinking of me as someone who went 9 years to orthodox school and still feels like so many people in israel, alienated from judaism.”
I think we are truly talking apples and oranges. The characteristic of orthodox judaism in Israel is juxtaposed against a culturally Jewish society. That said, the qualities that distinguish American orthodox Jews from their less observant brethren are the exact social dimensions that Israelis live day to day. For example – The Hebrew Language, the ability to open up Jewish liturgical text and read it in Hebrew, a comparatively extensive knowledge of the Jewish calendar, history, and political movements. I think reason that many Israelis are alienated from “Judaism” is because orthodoxy in Israel is inherently bound to faith, whereas faith in American orthodoxy is closely bound with being a religious and cultural minority.
thinking of me as someone who went 9 years to orthodox school and still feels like so many people in israel, alienated from judaism.” I imagine that are defining Judaism in a highly individualized sense – aiming at the prophetic, humanistic traditions that you identify with.
But the question remains – what are the goals of zionism and are they successful?
The goal of Zionism was and is a sovereign Jewish state and that was achieved. Thank Herzl. The goal of Zionism was a country in which Jewish life could flourish. Thank Ahad Haam. No where in New York do you have the sort of new age festivals that happen at Meron and the sort of Settler craziness that happens at Tapuach and Hebron. For better or for worse. Where else could you have massive social experiments and the first Jewish army fight since Roman imperialism? I think it is a question of whether your definition of Zionism is ultimately utopian. Mine is not.
“it seems that and armed jewish community isnt a great solution after all (or any armed community).”
Every country has a military, except for maybe Costa Rica. But my bet is that they would have an army if they were surrounded by national governments that were believed that Jewish sovereignty was politically, culturally, theogically, and morally incompatible with their own political, cultural, theological, and moral systems. No one is justifying specific actions carried out by the Israeli army in specific circumstances, but many will be justifying a Jewish army until enemies of Jewish people cease to raise their own guns.