World Jewish News

The Minister of Israeli government, July Edelstain, calls for changes in immigration politics.

According to American newspaper "The Washington Times", they charge a fault for considerable splash of anti-Semitism in Israel on immigrants from Russia invited to settle in this country.
Growing number of incidents, including insults by words, actions, drawing swastikas on walls and also defilement of a Jewish cemetery have generated appeals to revise aggressive immigration politics of Israel.
July Edelstain, the Minister of Israeli government responsible for absorption of immigrants, became the first high-ranking governmental figure that frankly calls to change immigration politics. He has declared in the interview that he was disturbed with rise of anti-Semitism and its obvious connection with "excessively zealous" politics of the Jewish Agency responsible for inflow of immigrants to Israel. As he said, he met management of the Agency to make them strengthen measures of elimination of the "undesirable" immigrants who have no intention to accept customs of Jews.
During the analysis of recent immigrants from the former Soviet Union it was found out that 70% of them according to religious laws could not be recognized as "Jews".
The problem emerged because the Israeli law on returning guarantees everybody having at least one Jew-grandparent the right to move to Israel with him(her) and all of his(her) family. Critics state that aggressive recruiting campaign of the Jewish Agency, conducted in former republics of the Soviet Union, has tempted many people to get over to Israel despite their more than remote connection with Jewry.
Zalman Gilchensky, 37-years old rabbi from Jerusalem, created the center of monitoring of anti-Semitic act in Israel and fixed at least 500 such incidents within the last year. Now he heads campaign to change this law.
According to him, the law allows to non-Jews, and sometimes to absolutely anti-Semitic oriented families, to immigrate to Israel simply because one of members of such families had a Jewish grandparent.
Last week Gilchinsky organized the first public demonstration of supporters of this idea before the Jerusalem residence of the Jewish Agency. He proves that haste of the Agency in inviting new immigrants endangers the State of Israel.
The Agency recognizes it is disturbed with anti-Semitism but emphasizes that it will not change the position concerning the right on returning. The representative of Agency Ieguda Veynraub said: "To change the law on returning means to betray belief of the Jewish Community. The solution of this problem lays in improvement of education system".

Источник: Sem40.ru