Abstract: In the past twenty years almost three quarters of a million Russian Jews have emigrated to the West. Their presence in Israel, Europe and North America and their absence from Russia have left an indelible imprint on these societies. The emigrants themselves as well as those who stayed behind, are in a struggle to establish their own identities and to achieve social and economic security
In this volume an international assembly of experts historians, sociologists, demographers and politicians join forces in order to assess the nature and magnitude of the impact created by this emigration and to examine the fate of those Jews who left and those who remained. Their wide-ranging perspectives contribute to creating a variegated and complex picture of the recent Russian Jewish Emigration.
Part 1 The historical setting: "from northern country" - Russian and Soviet immigration to America and Israel in historical perspective, Zvi Gitelman.
Part 2 From emigration to absorption - policy formulation and implementation: Soviet policy towards Jewish emigration - an overview, Yaacov Ro'i; ethnic and related factors in soviet emigration policy, 1968-1989, Laurie Salitan; the impact of the United States on Soviet emigration policy, Richard Schifter; Israel's immigration policy and the dropout phenomenon, Yehuda Dominitz; the quandaries of an Israeli minister of absorption, Yair Tzaban; Israel's absorption policy since the 1970s, Shmuel Adler. Part 3 The social context of emigration: the interrelationship between emigration and the socio-demographic profile of Russian Jewry, Mark Tolts; Jewish emigration from the former USSR - who? why? how many? Robert J. Brym; does the country gain or lose from the Exodus of Jews? the discussion in Russian society, Eli Weinerman; attitudes of Russians towards Jews and their emigration, 1989-94. Part 4 Social and economic absorption in Israel and the US: Soviet Jews in the United States - language and labour market adjustments revisited, Barry R. Chiswick; community formation among Jews from the former Soviet Union in the US, Steven J. Gold; immigrants from the former USSR in Israel in the 1990s: - demographic characteristics and socio-economic absorption, Ari M. Paltiel et al. Part 5 Cultural change and identity dilemmas: Jewish identity among Russian immigrants in the US, Paul Ritterband; culture change, border crossings and identity shopping - Jewish teenagers from the CIS assess their future in Israel, Fran Markowitz; identity and language - the social insertion of Soviet Jews in Israel, Eliezer Ben-Rafael et al; motivation to serve in the Israeli Army - the gap between cultural involvement and cultural performance, Abraham Carmeli, Judith Fadlon; is living in Russia worthwhile? Leonid Gozman; the view from Kiev, Leonid Finberg; twenty years after, Alexander V. Voronel. Part 6 Impact on the receiving society.
