Senior Aide To Finance Minister Under Attack For Questioning Motivation, Pedigree Of Russian Immigrants

Several Knesset members called yesterday for the dismissal of a high-ranking adviser to Finance Minister Yuval Steinitz for saying that hundreds of thousands of Russian-speaking immigrants who received citizenship because of their Jewish heritage are not actually Jewish and "came here for financial reasons."

Treasury official under fire after attack on Russian-speaking immigrants
High-ranking adviser faces potential ouster for questioning the pedigree and motivations of olim from former Soviet Union.
By Zvi Zrahiya and Moti Bassok • Ha’aretz

Several Knesset members called yesterday for the dismissal of a high-ranking adviser to Finance Minister Yuval Steinitz for saying that hundreds of thousands of Russian-speaking immigrants who received citizenship because of their Jewish heritage are not actually Jewish and "came here for financial reasons."

Avi Simhon, who heads Steinitz's financial advisory committee, also reportedly asked why illegal migrants from Africa shouldn't be able to undergo a quick conversion if Israel could take in 450,000 immigrants from the former Soviet Union whose Jewish status is questionable.

"The unprecedented defamation against immigrants from the former Soviet Union, by the finance minister's senior financial adviser, shows the ignorance and cynicism that harms thousands of immigrants who came to Israel under the Law of Return and contribute a great deal to the State of Israel," said MK Shlomo Molla (Kadima ), who moved to Israel from Ethiopia.

Molla called on Steinitz to fire Simhon, adding: "If he doesn't do so, the adviser's position will be viewed as his position."

Comments slammed as 'racist'

Yisrael Beiteinu, which counts Russian-speaking immigrants as its electoral base, condemned Simhon's remarks as "racist."

"Officials of this kind, who hold racist views, have no place in the civil service, and the finance minister would do well to fire him at once," the party said in a statement. "Soviet immigrants came to Israel with the encouragement and support of every single government of Israel, which understood their importance to the development and progress of the State of Israel."

Simhon made the comments Friday, at the Commercial and Industrial Club of Tel Aviv.

"More than 450,000 immigrants who reached Israel were never Jewish," he said. "Maybe they had a grandfather who once was Jewish. They came here for financial reasons."

The remarks were broadcast on Army Radio yesterday, sparking the calls for his dismissal, and an apology of sorts from the Finance Ministry.

"Dr. Simhon explained that the interpretation given to his comments - making it seem like he had come out against the immigration from the former Soviet Union or against the Law of Return - is nowhere near his position, and in any case, he seeks to apologize to anyone who was insulted by the comments as broadcast," Steinitz's bureau said in a statement.

The statement also said Simhon sees immigration - including the wave of immigration from the former Soviet Union - as a windfall for the country and for Zionism.

The finance minister released the statement after meeting with Simhon, whom he summoned for clarification after he heard about the broadcast and walked out of the weekly cabinet meeting to deal with the incident.

The statement would appear to meet the requirement of coalition chairman MK Zeev Elkin (Likud ), who called for Simhon's dismissal unless he issued an apology.

"If Simhon doesn't apologize and retract his comments in a clear fashion, I will demand that the finance minister cease all contact with him immediately," said Elkin, an immigrant from the former Soviet Union.

The Globe's version of the story:

Steinitz advisor compares Russian immigrants to African migrants
Dr. Avi Simhon was reprimanded by the Minister of Finance and apologized.
Lilach Weissman • Globes

Minister of Finance Yuval Steinitz today summoned his senior economic advisor Dr. Avi Simhon to clarify comments made about Russian immigrants at the Commerce and Industrial Club in Tel Aviv on Friday. "More than 400,000 immigrants who were never Jewish came to Israel, but who may have had one grandparent who was once Jewish. They came here because they received immigrants' benefits and we agreed to take them in," he said.

Simhon also compared the Russians to African migrant labors who are infiltrating into Israel. "If we absorbed them, why don’t we absorb the infiltrators from Africa? They too would be happy to undergo a fast-track conversion process."

Before meeting Simhon today, Steinitz said, "It's obvious to me that that is not what he meant. The immigration from Russia made a huge contribution to Israel, its security and its economy. I hope that this welcome immigration will continue in full force under the Law of Return."

Simhon told Steinitz that the commentary about his remarks changed them to imply that he opposed immigration from Russia and the Law of Return, which was far from his actual position. He apologized to anyone offended. "It is in general hard to doubt the huge contribution of this immigration to the country, its strength, security, economy, and culture," he said.

Simhon's remarks ignited a political firestorm and calls for his resignation. Minister of Immigrant Absorption Sofa Landver (Israel Beiteinu) said, "Immigration from CIS countries changed the country and boosted its economy. Even the prime minister said that this immigration saved the State of Israel."

MK Shlomo (Neguse) Molla (Kadima), who was born in Ethiopia, said, "The finance minister should get rid of this advisor who whispers in his ear, and fire him."

[Hat Tip: Yerachmiel Lopin.]

Comments

[ZSI]

What racism? For what does he have to apologize? He said the truth. Many of the non-Jewish immigrants from the FSU came to Israel to seek a better life. That does not contradict the fact that the Aliyah helped to give the country a good economic jumpstart, but it did not occur right away. It took about 10 years for that to start to occur. This is making a mountain out of a moehill. Maybe not the most politically correct thing to say, but not wrong...

[Russian PhD]

1. NORMAL country should be PROUD that people of other nations want to come there for the BETTER LIFE.
2. ALL immigrants to the US, Canada and Western Europe come there for better life and these countries are PROUD that they ABLE to provide better life and freedom and human.
3. ALL Americans, including presidents, heroes, holders of the Congressional Gold Medal, Astronauts, Noble Prize winners, e.g. all those who give the glory to the American Nation are descents of economic migrants (or sometimes even economic migrants themselves)
4. Only dark and totalitarian regimes like Soviet Union or Third Reich condemn the basic and sacred wish of human being for better life and require them to sacrifice their lives or well-being for the "nation" or for the "great holly ideals" instead.
5. Majority of 450,000 allegedly non-Jewish Russian immigrants in Israel are non-Jewish only according to the primitive Orthodox low.
6. It is not uncommon that some Jewish young people participated in Zionist activity in the FSU, were persecuted, and finally were recognized as non-Jews in Israel (e.g., children of Jewish fathers)
7. Thus, many of these recognized as non-Jews in Israel actually arrived according to their national aspirations, and not (only) due to economic reasons
8. A lot of JEWS arrived ALSO according to economic reasons, and sometimes according to these reasons ONLY.
9. Many of these, arrived of economic reasons, Jews or non-Jews, paid their lives for this country (and sometimes were refused normal burial).

[Joe Bloom]

If Israel is going to become open to all like the United States - stop bother us Jews to come there. I can return to the US. I don't need to bust my a** to come to a multi-cultural country in the Middle-East. The only reason I moved to Israel is to live in a Jewish Country - not with goyim. I can go back to the US and do that. At least the Russian people have some background with the Jewish people and will eventually blend in. But the African - they have a whole continent. Who do we Jews think we are - that we are so great that we can solve all the world's problems ?? Let them read our Bible and learn how to fix their own problems in Africa.

[Yerachmiel Lopin]

Plenty of charedim came to Israel for economic reasons and stay there for the same reason. Plenty of Jews came to Israel with no Zionist convictions but just to escape persecution.

That is not so important. What is important is whether they accepted the terms of citizenship and contributed to the state.

[Mr. Apikoros]

"Dark and totalitarian regimes like Soviet Union or Third Reich..."

It's rather ironic, Russkie PhD, that you're writing this, as you're the one who's posted in the past that the USA did little to defeat Nazi Germany; it was all the heroic sacrifices of Russians, Jewish and otherwise. You've also justified some of Stalin's most brutal actions (btw, Stalin murdered more than twice as many people than Hitler did just in case you needed to be reminded).

Personally, I don't believe for a minute that the Russian thugs in Israel, the USA, and elsewhere with a Jewish mother are any less crooked than the Russian thugs with a Jewish father.

[Russian PhD]

Joe Bloom,

You did for somebody big favor that you moved to Israel? You think somebody impressed from you threatening to leave back for the US? You want that Israel will kick out of the country million citizens from Russian origin that do not racially-pure for you, only to male happy several thousands American-Israelis?

And please don't try to sale me Babe Maises, American Jewry had problem of intermarriages, of Goyim mixed between Jews, and of hidden Mamzerim much worst than Russians.

[Aleksandr Sigalov]

"More than 450,000 immigrants who reached Israel were never Jewish," he said. "Maybe they had a grandfather who once was Jewish. They came here for financial reasons."

Common guys,

Mr. Steinitz is most likely one of them Nazi eugenicists. Big deal...!

[Canuck]

It is simply a fact hundreds of thousands of immigrants to Israel are not Jewish by any standard. And, few are interested in sincere conversion. I believe they were brought in by the government, at taxpayer expense, in order to offset Arab population growth, and to blur the distinctiveness of Jewish identity. These immigrants hoped to improve their economic lot, and to avail themselves of the benefits offered by the welfare state.

[Scheigetz]

As Russian PhD brilliantly said,it's a huge pain in the ass to live in an eastern european country(in my case,Hungary)and being called by everyone a (filthy) Jew even if only my father was Jewish then acknowledging that in Israel I'd be considered a filthy goy,because my mom was not Jewish.Oddly the nazis weren' t so paranoid about halakhà:if you were a mischling like me,you'd go straight to Auschwitz and maybe share the bed with some pious Satmar.

[Aleksandr Sigalov]

being called by everyone a (filthy) Jew

You probably mean - Yid. Jew is just a proper word for Jewish People, at least in Russian language.

In FSU (or Russia) people usually use double slur - "filthy Yid".

[Scheigetz]

Well,actually i was translating into english since hungarian doesn't have a pejorative term for 'Jew'.But the point is that it's a shame that millions of people who have a jewish father and would have been considered as outcasts in 1940s Europe,are seen as pariahs also among Jews(or at least among strictly orthodox ones)

[Canuck]

Scheigetz: Your pseudonym is generally considered derogatory. I don't doubt that having a Jewish sounding family name in Hungary might be a social liability. But, it is highly unlikely that you would be treated as a pariah by Jews in most communities in Europe, Israel or North America. The high rates of intermarriage and assimilation should be proof enough of this. But, even among religious Jews, you should most certainly expect to be treated with courtesy.

[Abu Jihad Schneerson]

And is conversion to orthodoz Judaism easier for patrilinear Jews?

[kassandra]

An acquaintance of mine from Russia (I live in E. Europe) married a second husband who "discovered" that he had a Jewish grandparent. In the early 1990's they emigrated to Israel. The Jewish husband died. The wife then remarried her first husband and he emigrated to Israel. Neither of them have any connection with "Jewishness", aside from the first husban's tentative connections. Both of them are aged now , and living on public welfare -- and are on the front lines in denigrating all "blacks", be they Somalis or Palestinians.

[billige staedtereisen]

Light Reaction,wind point surround excellent new appointment war occasion conference currently prepare influence worker probably owner to attack travel wing high arrangement hardly still violence different leader attract potential both class per stick opinion persuade why category link appearance lovely foundation clothes pool say especially plate only literature wonder corner provision pressure criterion floor location down original ready play none female handle local get wrong brain review live video critical recognise experiment terrible notice lean know government royal role generally rather immediately easily hardly serious present aspect slightly yet knowledge modern even silence