Birobidzhan, (continued)

In the shattered economy of Birobidzhan, the one organization that does not lack for money is the Sokhnut office. Funded by private donations, Sokhnut is a Jewish agency with offices worldwide that provide assistance, including financial, to Jews emigrating to Israel. For many Russian Jews, Sokhnut's policy of paying the airfare for emigrating Jews is the only way they could afford to make the trip.

Every Monday and Thursday, a crowd waits outside the door of the Sokhnut office while director Mikhail Diment reviews prospective emigres' papers. Mr. Diment, a small, tired-looking man seated below an Israeli flag tacked on his wall, is an unswaying believer that Israel is the land of the Jews, and the Jews have every right to leave Birobidzhan without a second thought.

"We are the one race that knows where exactly it came from," he says, peering over the rim of his glasses. "You can pinpoint it back to the time when God first called us the Jewish people. We are linked by faith, by the Torah. And Israel is our homeland."

Some Jews, such as Sunday school teacher Oleg Shavulski, argue that more money should be spent on reviving the Jewish tradition in Birobidzhan than on simply herding people out. "If Israel had sent a rabbi here instead of Sokhnut, this city would have a thriving spiritual life," he says. "This is the Jewish Autonomous Region. We have to provide for the spiritual life of people who are staying."

[RETURN TO CHRONICLES]




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