[p?c1=2&c2=6035250&cv=2.0&cj=1&cs_ucfr=0&comscorekw=Israel%2CRussia%2CE urope%2CWorld+news%2CMiddle+East+and+north+Africa%2CSouth+and+central+A sia] [1]Skip to main content[2]Skip to navigation [3]Print subscriptions [4]Sign in [5]Search jobs [6]Search US edition [ ] * [7]US edition * [8]UK edition * [9]Australia edition * [10]International edition [11]The Guardian - Back to homeThe Guardian [ ] * [12]News * [13]Opinion * [14]Sport * [15]Culture * [16]Lifestyle ShowMoreShow More * [ ] News + [17]View all News + [18]US news + [19]World news + [20]Environment + [21]Soccer + [22]US politics + [23]Business + [24]Tech + [25]Science + [26]Newsletters + [27]Fight for democracy * [ ] Opinion + [28]View all Opinion + [29]The Guardian view + [30]Columnists + [31]Letters + [32]Opinion videos + [33]Cartoons * [ ] Sport + [34]View all Sport + [35]Soccer + [36]NFL + [37]Tennis + [38]MLB + [39]MLS + [40]NBA + [41]NHL + [42]F1 + [43]Golf * [ ] Culture + [44]View all Culture + [45]Film + [46]Books + [47]Music + [48]Art & design + [49]TV & radio + [50]Stage + [51]Classical + [52]Games * [ ] Lifestyle + [53]View all Lifestyle + [54]Fashion + [55]Food + [56]Recipes + [57]Love & sex + [58]Home & garden + [59]Health & fitness + [60]Family + [61]Travel + [62]Money * Search input ____________________ google-search Search (BUTTON) * [63]Support us * [64]Print subscriptions [ ] US edition * [65]UK edition * [66]Australia edition * [67]International edition * [68]Search jobs * [69]Digital Archive * [70]Guardian Puzzles app * [71]Guardian Licensing * [72]The Guardian app * [73]Video * [74]Podcasts * [75]Pictures * [76]Inside the Guardian * [77]Guardian Weekly * [78]Crosswords * [79]Wordiply * [80]Corrections * [81]Facebook * [82]Twitter * [83]Search jobs * [84]Digital Archive * [85]Guardian Puzzles app * [86]Guardian Licensing * [87]World * [88]Europe * [89]US * [90]Americas * [91]Asia * [92]Australia * [93]Middle East * [94]Africa * [95]Inequality * [96]Global development Avigdor Lieberman [ ] Israel’s Moldova-born foreign minister Avigdor Lieberman. His Yisrael Beiteinu party has been successful mainly as a result of its support among Russian-speaking immigrants. Photograph: Pierre Terdjman/EPA Israel’s Moldova-born foreign minister Avigdor Lieberman. His Yisrael Beiteinu party has been successful mainly as a result of its support among Russian-speaking immigrants. Photograph: Pierre Terdjman/EPA [97]Israel Israel's former Soviet immigrants transform adopted country Russian-speaking Jews who arrived over the past 20 years have integrated little, but influenced everything from culture to politics Harriet Sherwood [98]Harriet Sherwood in Jerusalem [99]@harrietsherwood Wed 17 Aug 2011 05.20 EDT * * * At Bar Putin, in the heart of Jerusalem, you can down vodka shots in homage to the former Russian president. In Ashdod – also known as Little Moscow – you might pop into the Tiv Ta'am supermarket for pork and black bread. On Israeli TV there's Channel 9 if you want to watch broadcasts in the mother tongue round the clock. The million-plus citizens of the former Soviet Union who migrated to [100]Israel in the past 20 years have not only made new lives of their own but they have transformed their adopted country. They have influenced the culture, hi-tech industry, language, education and, perhaps most significantly, Israeli politics. Jews in the former Soviet Union were largely banned from making aliya – migrating to Israel – before the collapse of the empire. But from 1990 onwards they came in their thousands, and they now constitute around 15% of Israel's 7.7 million population. Strictly speaking not all of them are Jewish. In traditional Judaism only someone whose mother is Jewish or who has undergone a formal conversion to Judaism is a Jew. But from 1990 anyone from the former Soviet Union who had a Jewish father or grandparent, or who was married to someone meeting those criteria, was granted Israeli citizenship under the country's law of return. According to Israel's Central Bureau of Statistics around 30% of immigrants from the former Soviet Union in the 1990s were not Jews or not considered Jewish under Orthodox law. In 2005 that figure leapt to 59%. Only around 5% of the non-Jews have converted. Some came to pursue the Zionist dream; some came to escape antisemitism; and a large number came for better economic prospects. They brought culture – art, theatre, music – and a new entrepreneurialism. But they almost overwhelmed Israel, causing a severe housing crisis. Many eventually settled in Russian enclaves in cities such as Ashdod, Petah Tikva and Haifa – and in expanding West Bank settlements, such as Ariel. "It was a very different type of immigration," said Lily Galili, an Israeli journalist writing a book about the impact of the tidal wave from the former Soviet Union. "They didn't want to integrate. They wanted to lead. They changed the nature of the country." Nowhere is this more apparent than in Israeli politics, particularly in the rise of [101]Avigdor Lieberman, Israel's Moldova-born foreign minister, and his far-right party, Yisrael Beiteinu. Now the third largest force in Israeli politics and a key member of the ruling coalition, Yisrael Beiteinu has enjoyed success mainly as a result of its support among Russian-speaking immigrants. Lieberman and his party have pursued a relentlessly rightwing agenda, opposing concessions in peace negotiations with the Palestinians, supporting settlement expansion, seeking to curb the rights of Israel's 20% Arab population and attacking leftist NGOs and campaigners. "Unfortunately they [immigrants from former Soviet states] have changed the nature of democracy in Israel," said Galili. "There's a certain amount of exaggeration – many things may have changed without them. But they have a different concept of democracy. And they have strengthened and given confidence to the [homegrown] secular rightwing." A year ago the former US president Bill Clinton caused a furore when he said Russian-speaking Israelis were "an obstacle to peace with the Palestinians". Russian immigrants were among "the hardest-core people against a division of the land ... They've just got there, it's their country, they've made a commitment to the future there. They can't imagine any historical or other claims that would justify dividing it," Clinton was quoted in Foreign Policy magazine as saying. Galili pointed to "some sense of alienation between Russian immigrants and native-born Israelis. There is not much social interaction. There are still places for 'Russians' that 'Israelis' don't go and aren't wanted – and vice versa." But, she added, there would be no going back. "For many years the joke was that Israel had become the 51st state of the US. Instead we have become just another Soviet republic. It's quite a twist in the story." Topics * [102]Israel * [103]Russia * [104]Europe * [105]Middle East and north Africa * [106]South and central Asia * [107]features * * * * * * [108]Reuse this content More on this story (BUTTON) (BUTTON) More on this story (BUTTON) (BUTTON) * Mikhail Gorbachev: I was too soft on Yeltsin 17 Aug 2011 * Mikhail Gorbachev: I should have abandoned the Communist party earlier 16 Aug 2011 * Gorbachev coup 20 years on: the scoop that got away 16 Aug 2011 * Calls for recognition of 1991 Soviet coup martyrs on 20th anniversary 16 Aug 2011 * 1991 coup attempt against Mikhail Gorbachev - in pictures 16 Aug 2011 * Vladimir Putin's televised heroics – in pictures 17 Aug 2011 Most viewed Most viewed * [109]World * [110]Europe * [111]US * [112]Americas * [113]Asia * [114]Australia * [115]Middle East * [116]Africa * [117]Inequality * [118]Global development * [119]News * [120]Opinion * [121]Sport * [122]Culture * [123]Lifestyle Original reporting and incisive analysis, direct from the Guardian every morning [124]Sign up for our email * [125]About us * [126]Help * [127]Complaints & corrections * [128]SecureDrop * [129]Work for us * [130]Privacy policy * [131]Cookie policy * [132]Terms & conditions * [133]Contact us * [134]All topics * [135]All writers * [136]Digital newspaper archive * [137]Facebook * [138]YouTube * [139]Instagram * [140]LinkedIn * [141]Twitter * [142]Newsletters * [143]Advertise with us * [144]Guardian Labs * [145]Search jobs [146]Back to top © 2023 Guardian News & Media Limited or its affiliated companies. 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