I8: Aliya

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Behind the
Curtain

From the establishment of the State of Israel until 1967, the Iron Curtain separated Soviet Jews from the rest of the world. Following the 1967 Six Day War, their Jewish consciousness was awakened, and increasing numbers began learning Hebrew and wanted to move to Israel, though no one really new how many Jews there were in the Soviet Union. In any event, the Government did not permit emigration and so all requests were refused. Many thousands of Soviet Jews became 'refusniks' and were treated with suspicion by the authorities. They were often detained for intense questioning and some were imprisoned on made up charges of treason and other subversive acts against the state.

Parting the Curtain

International relations with the Soviet Union changed drastically in the early 1970s and a significant number of Soviet Jews were permitted to emigrate to Israel. By 1979, 250,000 Jews had left the Soviet Union but there were a million more who still wanted to leave but could not. The Soviet Government were imposing all sorts of strict and complicated conditions on Jews who wanted to leave and this hindered any progress. At the end of the 1980s, President Mikhail Gorbachev's drive to liberalise the Soviet Union removed the many restrictions on emigration and since 1989, Jews have begun to leave for Israel in unprecedented numbers.

Operation 'Exodus'

Between mid-1989 and 1991, a massive 380,000 Soviet Jewish immigrants arrived in Israel. Since then, and until now, they have continued to arrive at a regular rate of about 65,000 a year. Since 1989 then, Israel has taken in 700,000 Jews from the former Soviet Union (FSU). The situation in the FSU continues to deteriorate with the threat of ethnic violence and anti-Semitism growing. The Russian economy is still in difficulty and people are using the Jews as scapegoats for their anger and worries. Of the hundreds of thousands of Jews still in the FSU, many want to stay there. They want to rebuild Jewish life and culture. Israel is helping in their efforts through funding projects and sending them teachers and educational materials.

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