POPULATION: Jews Flee Crisis-Ridden Argentina to War-Torn Israel

By Marcela Valente Reprint | | Print |

Marcela Valente

BUENOS AIRES, Apr 26 2002 (IPS) - Thousands of Argentine Jews are emigrating to Israel, despite the escalation of the armed conflict in the Middle East, because they are tired of suffering poverty, labour instability, economic uncertainty and the lack of public safety in this crisis-stricken Southern Cone country.

The number of consultations to the Israeli Embassy in Argentina by Jewish people considering the possibility of emigrating has risen tenfold since January, while the number of those who actually leave, which had increased from 800 in 2000 to 1,460 in 2001, will climb to an unprecedented 5,000 this year.

In the first few weeks of this month alone, 600 Argentine Jews moved to Israel.

Argentina – Latin America’s third-biggest economy – has the largest Jewish community in the region, totalling 205,000 in 1998, according to estimates by Jewish institutions.

April has been the most tragic month in the conflict between Israelis and Palestinians since the start of peace talks in the early 1990s. In Argentina, meanwhile, the severe social, economic, political and financial crisis marked by a four-year recession, which peaked in December with the collapse of two governments, shows no signs of letting up.

Some 100,000 Argentines left this once-rich country of 37 million last year, fleeing the crisis. The percentage of emigrants heading to Israel was not large, especially when taking into account the facilities provided by that country to any Jewish person of any age and any origin who wishes to settle there.

But the depth to which the Argentine crisis has sunk is reflected in the somewhat surprising desire of thousands of people to emigrate to a country at war, where they will live in fear of suicide bombers, and where all young people, including immigrants, must serve in the armed forces for three years.

“In Argentina isn’t there also a risk of dying?” Jorge Schvartzer, a 42-year-old Jewish shopkeeper, asked IPS. His wife, who also works, earns less than she spends in keeping their food business open. The family can no longer afford the tuition for their children’s private Jewish school.

The decision is not an easy one for Schvartzer. He knows that if they leave, their children – a young daughter and teenage son – will have to serve time in the army. But even before they face that inevitability, they will face the daily risk of being killed in a suicide attack in any Israeli city.

But as Schvartzer pointed out, dangers also exist in Buenos Aires, a city of 12 million. One of the women who attended a preparatory course for emigrating to Israel along with the Schvartzer family died this year when she fell on the subway tracks after struggling with a mugger who stole her purse as she was waiting on the platform.

Crime and violence represent a real threat for thousands of Argentines, who also live in constant fear of losing their jobs, losing access to health care, and losing their savings, as the financial crisis has thrown into doubt the possibility of recovering deposits, which have been partially frozen in the banks since December.

It is without a doubt the crisis that is driving Argentine Jews to leave their country, but the decision about where to go is ideological, and linked to the search for a place they feel is their own, Tzvi Hasson, the Jewish Agency for Israel’s representative for Latin America, told IPS.

The decision has little or nothing to do with faith, because in fact most of the emigrants are secular Jews, said Hasson. But they are drawn by the desire to live in a country where Jewish people are sovereign, the day of rest is Saturday, and the traditions of Judaism are respected.

Today, the problems created by the Argentine crisis absorb a large part of the efforts and financial resources of the Jewish Agency, an international non-governmental organisation created a century ago “to build bridges between the Jewish communities spread around the world.”

Twenty percent of Argentine Jews were living below the poverty line in 2001, according to the statistics of the Argentine Israeli Mutual Association, a Jewish community centre.

The Jewish Agency earmarked 20 million dollars in special aid this year to impoverished Jews in Argentina, Jewish schools that are left without pupils because families cannot afford the tuition payments, and those who decide to emigrate to Israel.

The benefits that Israel offers Jewish immigrants stand in sharp contrast to the restrictions that Argentines face when they try to emigrate to other industrialised countries.

Authorities in Israel are neither concerned about the age of immigrants – indeed, 12 percent are pensioners – nor their financial situation, origin, gender or physical condition. All Jews have the right to be declared Israeli citizens as soon as they set foot on Israeli soil.

Hasson admitted that living in Israel is not easy. “More than facilities, we offer them difficulties: we have a small country, whose territory would enter into the smallest of Argentina’s 23 provinces, scarce natural resources, and a language that takes a lifetime to learn. And worst of all, the dangers and lack of safety,” he said.

“I myself lived in Israel for 45 years, during which time we had seven wars. My four children served in the army, for three years each, and my 13 grandchildren will also have to do so,” he said.

But in compensation, Hasson added, the Jewish Agency offers a great deal of help to those who decide to move to Israel, especially the poor. “We give them a one-way ticket if they cannot afford it. Whoever wants to return (to their country of origin) can do so any time, but on their own account,” he said.

Those who take advantage of the Law of Return receive a monthly allowance for six months, for living expenses while they get set up in the country. During that period, they must study Hebrew, but the courses are paid by the Jewish Agency, as is their medical insurance.

Immigrants also receive assistance finding work, enrolling in school or university, or validating professional qualifications, credentials or degrees.

At the end of the six-month period, immigrants are given 20,000 dollars to make a down payment on a home – equivalent to around 10 percent of the average cost of a house for a family of four. They can take out a long-term state loan to pay off the rest.

The initial assistance is extended to 13 months for retirees. Besides the monthly stipend provided by the Jewish Agency, women over 60 and men over 65 receive an old age pension of 400 dollars a month, to which all Israeli citizens are entitled, regardless of the size of their contributions to the social security system.

All of which goes a long way towards explaining why many Argentine Jews are considering leaving this crippled economy behind and moving to Israel, despite the war and the suicide bombers.