The chairman of the Central Council of Jews in Germany, Paul Spiegel, answers these and other questions from the correspondent of Russkaya Germania.
– The proposals of the immigration commission (Einwanderungskomission) contain no indication of a reduction in quotas for contingent refugees. So far there have been no quantitative restrictions, and there should be none. However, something will still change. Until now, the German government granted the right to enter Germany on the so-called "Jewish ticket" to anyone with at least one Jewish parent. According to Jewish law, only a person born to a Jewish mother is considered a Jew. As a result, over recent years a significant group of people who are not Jews have entered Germany. They did not join Jewish communities, nor could they have been accepted there. Under the new law, the right to enter Germany will be granted only to Jews according to Halakha or those who have undergone giyur, i.e., converted to Judaism.
– Are you sure that it is the desire to lead a traditional Jewish way of life that makes Jews from the CIS move to Germany for permanent residence?
– I have never been to the CIS and do not intend to go there yet. My knowledge of the life of Jews there is based on media reports, and they assure that today the majority of Jews express a desire to leave the country. I think that in the next three years we will have to accept about 20-25 thousand contingent refugees.
– Today there is much talk about the integration of contingent refugees. What role should Jewish communities in Germany play in this? How can they help Jewish immigrants arriving in the country?
– Jewish communities have long been successfully working in this direction. First of all, they help learn the German language, without which there can be no question of a full life in Germany. But we need to start earlier. It is known that from the moment of filing an application for emigration to the moment of receiving permission, one and a half to two years pass. We believe that it is necessary to oblige people who have decided to move to Germany for permanent residence to take a German language course in their homeland. This point will most likely be included in the new Immigration Law.