The sociologist interviewed 144 students from various secondary schools in Israel aged 15 to 18. All of them arrived from the CIS countries between 2000 and 2002, after the peak of the immigration era had passed. When asked how they assess their identity, the vast majority said they feel Russian, although many came not from Russia but from Belarus and Ukraine. A small number called themselves Jews, and even fewer - Israelis.
The results of this study are fundamentally different from those obtained by Marina Niznik in a survey of schoolchildren who arrived in Israel in the 1990s. For them, there was no conflict related to national identity - they called themselves Russian-Jewish Israelis. There was also a noticeable difference in answers to questions about attitudes toward the Jewish religion. Immigrants of the 90s, regardless of their level of religious observance, believed that Judaism was an inseparable part of their identity, along with eye or hair color. Those who arrived in the 2000s strictly link Judaism to the fulfillment of religious precepts. Since most of them came from families where Jewish traditions were not practiced, it seems alien to them.
Immigrants of the 2000s are in greater social isolation than the repatriates of the 1990s, and almost all admit that their social circle consists of fellow immigrants. The study showed that schoolchildren who arrived in recent years experience significant difficulties in learning Hebrew. Most characterize their language proficiency as below average, admit that they read and write Hebrew poorly, and do not always understand lessons in that language. 60% of respondents complained about a decline in academic performance caused by language difficulties. Immigrants of the 90s know Hebrew much better.
According to Niznik, the Ministry of Education allocates a budget for the absorption of immigrant students on a per-student basis. Therefore, the larger wave of repatriates of the 90s had better conditions, including special classes for Hebrew instruction. The small number of arrivals in recent years does not allow schools to finance the necessary language assistance, leading to lower academic achievement.
Niznik cited another reason for the specific difficulties experienced by recent immigrants in acquiring Hebrew. She believes that the necessity of mastering a new language in their own countries - the switch from Russian to Ukrainian or Belarusian in primary school - deprived them of the opportunity to achieve proficiency in any other language, including Hebrew.
The author of the study particularly notes that 90% of immigrants in 1996 were Jews, 95% of those who arrived in 1975 were Jews, whereas among immigrants of 2000, Jews accounted for only 45%.
Professor Ze'ev Hanin of Bar-Ilan University, who researches Russian-speaking Jewish communities, fully agrees with Dr. Niznik's conclusions. In his words, "the differences between immigrants of the early 90s and the late 90s call into question the very ability of the latter to assimilate and be absorbed into Israeli society."