Differing views on Israeli immigration.

Byline: As'ad Abdul Rahman, Special to Gulf News

Two decades after the great wave of immigration to Israel in the wake of the fall of the Soviet Union, the Israeli writer Gilad Sharon sees a new opportunity to bring Jewish immigrants to Israel. The present global economic crisis, he says, represents a unique opportunity to attract Jewish immigrants.

Israel is very fearful of a scenario in which Jewish immigration plummets and emigration shoots up. For Tel Aviv, attracting Jews to Palestine is an investment in the life, well-being and strength of the state.

Two years ago, the Israeli Ministry of Immigrant Absorption started publishing figures on the unprecedented sharp decrease in Jewish immigration to Israel. Last year, when there were only 13,681 immigrants, mostly from Russia, represents the lowest immigration rate since 1948. Compared to 1990 - the year when immigration peaked - the figure represents a decrease of 94 per cent. As immigration is the backbone of Zionist ideology in Palestine, the Jewish Agency (in charge of encouraging Jewish immigration) is trying to increase the number of immigrants to Israel. In addition, the above-mentioned ministry has shown that 700,000 Jews have left the country for good, with a tangible number eventually renouncing Judaism.

With the purpose of safeguarding its Jewish nature, Israel is now promoting the idea of attracting a million Jewish immigrants.

"Try to imagine Israel without these almost one million immigrants," Sharon says. "If you can properly imagine it, you'll see a disaster."

Zionists clearly believe they are facing a demographic crisis.

Coincidentally, the Israeli press has lately published several articles on the supposed persecution of Jews in Europe today, urging them to immigrate to the Israeli "haven of security", where Jews gather in their "national homeland". Take for example, a piece by Guy Bakhour. "It is difficult to believe that the question is being asked once again!" he writes. "Woe to us as the question is still asked after 70 years: Is there a place in Europe for a Jew? Can Jews in 2009 live proudly on that continent that bears a horrible memory? The answer is a square NO! A Jew is no more able to walk in the street bearing Jewish symbols or to stay in Jewish institutions that are not surrounded with guards and policemen, frightened and locked behind a door." He concludes his article by calling upon these Jews to "leave the continent that reminds us of its anti-Semitism. We, in Israel, are in need of you. An increase of hundreds of thousands of modern Jews will strengthen the state and will check the hope of the Arabs in Israel for a demographic upper hand."

A recent article written by Antony Lerman and published in The Guardian contends that there are two ways of looking at the situation. The first defends the "diasporic tendency" of European Jews as modern people who look to the future, make use of European multiculturalism, stand on an equal footing with Jewish communities in other places, and play a full role in building a strong European civil society where all people enjoy equal human rights. This diasporic trend is positive, creative and maintainable, Lerman believes. The second is the notion of "cultural Zionism", which considers Israel the Jewish life centre and the only source of spiritual, cultural and religious inspiration that can reunite the Jewish people in Europe, where a new wave of enmity towards Jews and Israel is growing. This point of view, which Lerman refutes, sees European multiculturalism and its respect for human rights as belittling to the Jewish presence. This means that "the only chance for survival is to remain under the racist Zionist umbrella".

Lerman adds that the diasporic idea is not only the best choice for Jews in Europe; it also grants them a way out of the crisis. It respects the right of every Jew to freely choose whether or not he wishes to actively participate in Jewish life. In clear-cut words, Lerman concludes his article by saying that "Jews today are no more in need of anybody to open the door for them or to give them an umbrella, for the freedom that European Jews enjoy today is indeed amazing".

Zeev Bilski, executive chairman of the Jewish Agency, believes that there are obvious reasons for Jews in America and Europe not seeing Israel as an attractive place to live. He adds that this also holds true for the rest of world Jewry, who have largely assimilated into their host countries. Bilski contends that the rate of assimilation has reached 50 per cent in the US and 45 per cent in Western Europe, "which shows the increasing tendency of Jews to assimilate with their original societies and with the environment where they live".

He states that 90 per cent of world Jewry live in countries - such as the US, France, Britain and Germany - that enjoy a higher standard of living than their counterparts in Israel. As a result, for relatively well-off Jews, Israel is seen as a dangerous place to live in.

"In short, the way Israel depicted itself as a safe place for the Jews is no longer valid in the eyes of many Jewish sectors," Bilski concludes.

For Zionists, it might just be that their worst nightmare is coming true: Israel may one day cease to be a Jewish state.

Aa

Dr As'ad Abdul Rahman is chairman of the Palestinian Encyclopaedia.

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