Freeman
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- Sep 30, 2009
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Good news;
even Falachas want to leave:
Jews find home again in Russia / The Christian Science Monitor - CSMonitor.comJews find home again in Russia, Citing Economic Hardships and Threat of Terrorism (Russia)
More leave Israel for Moscow, spurred by economic opportunity and a decline of anti-Semitism.
Mikhail Gurevich emigrated from the Soviet Union in 1991, seeking freedom and a better life in Israel. Today he is a successful Internet publisher, TV show host and information technology consultant - back home in Moscow.
"I wanted to have a good job, develop myself, and do the things I'm doing now, but found I couldn't do them in Israel,"
Often with mixed motives and identity angst, some former Soviet Jews who rushed for the exit as the USSR crumbled are trickling back to Russia. About 50,000 have made the move in recent years, with numbers rising sharply during the Putin era.
Some cite disappointments with life in Israel, economic hardship, and the threat of terrorism since the second intifada began three years ago. Others, like Gurevich, stress the opportunities that have opened up as post-Soviet Russia has stabilized, merged with the world market, and entered a period of rapid economic progress.
There were no prospects here in the 1980s and '90s, only fear, crime, and chaos. Israel looked great by comparison," says Mr. Kogan. "But they went there, found they don't speak the language, can't get a job and they're considered to be Russians rather than Jews. At the same time, life in Russia has improved."
even Falachas want to leave: