Olim, those Jews who made aliyah to claim their eternal birthright, are important, if not crucial, in almost every aspect.
Without broaching the current issues here, such as a reform of the laws on aliyah, MK Taieb who is chair of ‘Education Committee’ set an important and new emphasis: the teachers in the ulpanim.
An ulpan (pl. ulpanim) is an intensive language course for olim to learn Hebrew. The teachers, mostly women, are grossly underpaid. This is wrong in every respect and needs quick improvement. There are about 533 teachers working in ulpan.
According to a study conducted by the Knesset Research and Information Center, 3,677 new immigrants are waiting to enroll in ulpanim, but currently there is a shortage of 88 teachers.
Etti Weisblai of the Knesset Research and Information Center said “The war in Ukraine has led to a significant increase in immigration to Israel. In 2022, 74,379 people immigrated to Israel, mostly from Ukraine and Russia. The big wave of immigration has created a lot of demand among adults for Hebrew language studies in ulpanim, and this trend has intensified due to a shortage of 37 Hebrew teachers in Government-run ulpanim.”
7.000 NIS per month is not only a shame, but economic imbecility
Sara Elisha, a teacher in an ulpan in Ashkelon, said “It cannot be that as someone with a bachelor’s degree and 31 years of experience, I earn NIS 7,000 (per month). A teacher in an ulpan is also a social worker and sister for the new immigrants.”
Committee Chair MK Taieb summed up the meeting, saying “The State of Israel cannot exist without immigrant absorption. The ulpan teachers are entitled to a worthy salary, like all the other teachers in Israel. I am inviting to my office, as early as this week, all the elements from the Government ministries and the teachers’ organizations to begin negotiations, so that we will have clear answers within a month.”
But and foremost, it is an economic imbecility. Not integrating new immigrants aka olim as quickly and optimally as possible is economic stupidity. Language is crucial. A fact that needs no further explanation. In this context, the quality of the ulpanim urgently needs to be raised and their one-sided focus on Russian questioned.
Because the fact is, around 72% of the olim from Russia and Ukraine are not Jews at all, and often leave the country very early. Quite a few emigrated to Israel on the Olim ticket with the intention of leaving the country as soon as possible. Many wait until they receive their Israeli passport to leave Israel as Israeli citizen with destination USA.
No wonder, they often don’t feel particularly connected to Judaism and Zionism. Not all Russians, of course, but too many. Also, more attention needs to be paid to the non-Russian olim, who often fall by the wayside. The non-integration due to insufficient resources leads finally to an eminent economic damage and multiple divisions.