ROBERT WISTRICH
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card in the pack, because it is not at all clear with which major political
formation he would choose to identify or ally himself. It is worth noting
that the Russian immigration has not had a very good press in Israel. If
you speak to Russian immigrants, you're very likely to hear many com–
plaints about the way they are portrayed in the Israeli media. The usual
stereotyping that goes on, sometimes even in the more intelligent media,
focuses on the Russian mafia, associating the immigrants with illegal
drugs, prostitution, and crime. Anyone would think that a plague had
descended upon the land of Israel, rather than what I believe to be in the
long run one of the greatest boosts for the country's future: this immigra–
tion provides a tremendous addition of brain power, of highly- qualified
people who have not only added to the prosperity of the Israeli economy
in the present but whose children are going to greatly strengthen Israel in
the future.
The sort of stigmatization that has been going on is quite out of place
with regard to this
aliya.
There is no doubt that one can say this has also
been the case with earlier waves of immigrants. But this sort of
"consolation" does not alleviate the pain. I find it extraordinary, unjustifi–
able, and very distorted. Ethiopian Jews, of course, have recently
manifested unprecedentedly violent anger. They feel deeply insulted by
the idea that their blood is not acceptable, because of the allegedly higher
incidence ofAIDS in their community. It is a highly emotive issue, obvi–
ously very badly handled. Beyond that, there is the question of how they
feel within Israeli society. I don't believe that this is primarily a problem
of racism, though there is some color prejudice in Israel. Broadly speak–
ing, I would say that prejudice against black people is significantly lower
in Israel than in most Western societies and that on the whole, in every–
day life, Ethiopian Jews have been rather well-treated by most Israelis.
They may have more legitimate complaints about official behavior to–
wards them. There is, for example, the important issue of their own kith
and kin who are stranded in Ethiopia and whom the Israeli government
hesitates to recognize as fully-fledged Jews. I feel for them in that there is
surely something wrong in questioning the Jewish credentials of a com–
munity which has remained faithful to so many traditions of Judaism in
adverse circumstances.
The issue of the North African Sephardim has not disappeared from
Israeli politics, but it is much less important than I can recall it having
been ten years ago. In fact, one of the reasons for the revolution in Israeli
politics that began with Mr. Begin's election in 1977 was the bitterness
and resentment that many Sephardic Jews felt toward a Labour establish–
ment that had neglected and patronized them. For a number of years, I
think, the Likud Party was seen as the best political vehicle available to
