Fertility Change among Post‐1989 Immigrants to Israel from the Former Soviet Union

Research on the evolution of immigrant fertility patterns has focused on the expected reduction in fertility among immigrants from high fertility, less developed countries who arrive in relatively low‐fertility developed societies. The current research considers a different context in which immigrants from the low‐fertility Former Soviet Union arrive in a relatively high‐fertility setting in Israel. This research context allows us to test various theories of immigrant fertility, which cannot normally be distinguished empirically. Results from Cox multivariate regressions of parity‐specific progression do not support assimilation theory, which would predict an increase in fertility following migration, in this context. We interpret the very low fertility rates of the FSU immigrants in Israel, relative to all relevant comparison groups, in terms of the economic uncertainty and hardship experienced during a difficult transition period by immigrants who have high aspirations for social mobility in their destination society.     

Identity Patterns among Immigrants from the Former Soviet Union in Israel: Assimilation vs. Ethnic Formation

This paper deals with identity patterns among the 1990s immigrants from the former Soviet Union (FSU) in Israel. It presents the complex set of identity types among immigrants in the context of their cultural and socio-demographic characteristics and their dynamic relationships with the Israeli host society.
The findings show that immigrants from the FSU in Israel form a distinct ethnic group within the Israeli social and cultural fabric. This is reflected in their closed social networks, ethnic information sources, strong desire to maintain ethnic-cultural continuity, and the fact that the ethnic component (Jew from the FSU or immigrant from the FSU) is central for self-identification. However, ethnic formation among these immigrants is not a reactive-oriented identity, which is mainly generated by alienation from the host society, it is rather an instrumentalized ethnicity, which is the outcome of ethnic-cultural pride and pragmatic considerations.     

The Increasing Political Power of Immigrants from the Former Soviet Union in Israel: From Passive Citizenship to Active Citizenship

The immigrants in Israel from the Former Soviet Union (FSU) followed a different pattern of political growth than other immigrant groups. Their increased power began on the national level and moved down to the local level, rather than from the periphery toward the centre – the pattern followed by the Oriental Jewish immigrants. We can trace three stages in the development of their political power.
The first stage was during the 1992 elections when the immigrants attempted to organize their own list. Though they failed, the results of the election strengthened them because they were given credit for the left's victory, giving them a sense of political effectiveness.
The second stage came during the 1996 elections. It was a defining moment for the former Soviet immigrants' political power. In this stage external factors and internal factors reinforced each other. The change in the electoral system made it possible for the immigrants to vote for their community on the one hand and for a national figure on the other, thus resolving their identity dilemma.
The local elections in 1998 marked the third stage in their political strength. They found the immigrant community better organized, with an improved understanding of its local interests, the capacity to put forward a strong local leadership, and a stronger link between the immigrant political centre and the local level.     

Metropolitan Labour Markets, Peripheral Labour Markets and Socio-economic Outcomes among Immigrants to Israel

This article focuses on the impact of the local opportunity structure on socio‐economic outcomes of recent immigrants to Israel. Specifically, it examines the extent to which metropolitan labour markets versus peripheral labour markets differentially affect socio‐economic incorporation of recent “Russian” immigrants who arrived in Israel after the collapse of the former Soviet Union in 1989. Using the 1995 Israeli Census of Population, the analyses address the following questions: (1) were recent immigrants differentially sorted to local labour markets; (2) do local labour markets differentially affect socio‐economic attainment; and (3) do modes of socio‐economic attainment and patterns of ethnic inequality differ across metropolitan and peripheral labour markets? The analyses reveal that immigrants from the European republics and of lower education are more likely to settle in peripheral labour markets than in metropolitan labour markets. Peripheral labour markets, compared with metropolitan labour markets, have detrimental consequences for the socio‐economic outcomes of immigrants. The data do not provide strong support for the thesis that patterns of socio‐economic attainment and inequality differ much across labour markets. The rules according to which socio‐economic attainment of immigrants is determined are, for the most part, similar across labour markets. In general, occupational status and earnings of immigrants are likely to increase with the passage of time, education, European origin; and to decline with age regardless of type of the local labour market. However, the socio‐economic outcomes of immigrants are considerably higher in the metropolis than in the periphery. The findings suggest that the local labour market plays a major role in the determination of immigrants' socio‐economic rewards and outcomes.     

Continuity and Discontinuity of Violent and Nonviolent Behavior: Toward a Classification of Male Adolescent Immigrants from the Former Soviet Union in Israel

Abstract

This article examines the perceptions of male adolescent immigrants to Israel from the former Soviet Union (FSU) and what accounts for their using or refraining from violence. A grounded theoretical classification of four groups relating to continuity and discontinuity of violent and nonviolent behavior is presented and reasons provided for these behaviors in the host country, compared with the country of origin. Each group is described and analyzed by inductive parameters relating to self-perception, immigration, attitudes toward violence, and identification and acceptance of norm differences. Findings are based on semistructured interviews with 40 male adolescents who immigrated from the FSU to Israel. Youth who have immigrated due to ideological reasons, had control over the decision to emigrate, or were able to identify norm differences between the two countries adjusted well and were nonviolent in the receiving country. Youth whose families immigrated due to pragmatic considerations, who had little or no control over the decision to emigrate, had difficulty adjusting, or preferred to live by the norms they were used to in the FSU tended to be involved in violent behavior. The findings are presented in a grounded theoretical model and discussed in the context of theoretical concepts of “uprooting of meaning” for the youth in each of the four groups.     

Late‐Life Migration,Work Status,and Survival: The Case of Older Immigrants from the Former Soviet Union in Israel

This analysis examined mortality among late‐life Soviet Jewish immigrants in Israel, and the contribution of post‐migration work status to their survival. The study linked 1997 survey data to mortality records, seven years hence. The results revealed that mortality was associated with older age, male gender, morbidity, and having less resourceful social networks. More importantly, after controlling for these background variables work status remained a significant correlate. Late‐life immigrants who had never worked in the host country had a significantly greater risk of death than their immigrant counterparts who had ever worked (or were still working).     

The Jewish Emigration from the Former Soviet Union to Germany

Since the end of the 1980s a massive emigration of Jews from the former Soviet Union (FSU) can be observed. Israel and the United States were the most important receiving countries, followed by Germany, a comparatively new immigration destination for Jews from the successor states of the USSR. One of the reasons the German Government allowed the admission of Jews from post-Soviet states was the Jewish community's claim that this immigration might rejuvenate the German Jewish population in the longer run. Using an index of demographic aging (Billeter's J), the following article examines if this has actually happened. Findings suggest that immigration actually initiated a process of rejuvenation in the Jewish population in Germany. However, it was reversed during the end of the 1990s because of an unaffected low fertility.     

The Role of Immigrants in the Italian Labour Market

In little more than a decade, Italy has become a country characterized by immigration from abroad. This pattern is far removed from what central-northern European countries experienced during the 1950s and the 1960s.
Immigration has not been explicitly demanded by employers, nor has it been ruled by agreements with the immigrants' countries of origin, nor perceived as necessary for the economic system. For all these reasons, immigration has been chaotic and managed in an emergency and approximate way, even though it is deemed useful and is requested by the informal as well as the official economy.
Following presentations of statistics on trends in the phenomenon, three issues are analysed:
- how immigrants are integrated into a labour market that has not called them and into circumstances characterized by the absence of public policies to help them in their job search.
- whether it is possible to separate regular immigration involved in the official market from irregular immigration in the hidden economy, considering advantages of the first and harmful effects of the second for the Italian socio-economic system.
- whether it is appropriate to address complementarity between immigrant labour and the national labour force in a country with 2,500,000 unemployed workers and heavy territorial unbalances.     

A Preliminary Exploration of Immigrant Substance Abusers from the Former Soviet Union Living in Israel,Germany and the United States: A Multi-National Perspective

SUMMARY

The Former Soviet Union (FSU) has historically been seen as having an unusually large population of individuals with alcohol problems. Since the fall of the communist regime, a growing drug abusing population has become visible. With the large migration of its residents to western countries and to Israel, the rates of alcohol and drug problems among these immigrants appear to be disproportionally high, although reliable data are lacking. The purpose of this article is to summarize exploratory data regarding alcohol and other drug use among immigrants from the Former Soviet Union living in Israel, Germany and the United States, and to identify further research needs and implications for treatment and policy.     

Canadian Publications on the Former Soviet Union and Eastern Europe for 1995

This article seeks to provide a nuanced understanding of why some Russian citizens look upon Josef Stalin respectfully today. Based upon the results of an original nationwide survey conducted by the Levada Analytical Center and supplemented by seventy field interviews, this article posits that a considerable number of Russians view Stalin respectfully on account of three factors. First, Stalin remains a somewhat revered historical figure in part because most Russians harbour no feelings of shame about the Soviet past. Additionally, the tendency of some to rationalize Stalin’s main policies of the 1930s, by claiming that there was no other way for the USSR to industrialize than according to the course adhered to by Stalin, helps to safeguard the former General Secretary’s reputation. That said, the primary reason why some Russians view Stalin respectfully is due to the pervasiveness of nostalgia for the Soviet period, a widespread phenomenon which serves to bolster Stalin’s image as a leader whose contributions led to the realization of great achievements. This article contends that feelings of respect for Stalin are mainly grounded in how Russians evaluate the present ordering of society in comparison to the Soviet past.     

Generations and Motivations: Russian and other Former Soviet Immigrants in Costa Rica

GÉNÉRATIONS ET MOTIVATIONS : IMMIGRANTS RUSSES ET AUTRES IMMIGRANTS EX-SOVIÉTIQUES AU COSTA RICA
Nous examinons dans cet article le rôle qu'ont joué les réseaux sociaux dans la migration et l'installation des immigrants russes et autres immigrants de l'ex-Union soviétique au Costa Rica. Ce groupe d'immigrants est particulièrement intéressant en ce qu'il constitue un exemple de migration à partir d'une ex-nation communiste dans un pays du tiers-monde et non dans un pays riche (États-Unis ou pays européen). De plus, des femmes soviétiques qui ont épousé des Costariciens vers la fin des années 1970 sont à l'origine de cette migration. Notre recherche avait pour objectif d'examiner la structure et la signification de ces réseaux sociaux d'immigrants ainsi que le rôle qu'ils jouent dans le pro-cessus de migration et pendant l'installation. Les résultats donnent à penser qu'il existe une différence significative dans la forme et la fonction des réseaux sociaux des immigrants arrivés avant 1991 (pendant l'époque soviétique) et de ceux qui sont venus après 1991 et à la suite de l'effondrement de l'Union soviétique.     

Between Spatial and Social Segregation among Immigrants: The Case of Immigrants from the FSU in Israel

Studies on immigrants' residential concentration have reported mixed findings. Some have argued that immigrants' residential concentration is a necessary step in the process of their social integration because there the newcomers find housing and employment opportunities as well as social support. As they learn the language and improve their socioeconomic status, they move to neighborhoods where they share space with the native population. Others have argued that the ethnic neighborhood delays the process of social integration in the new society because it nurtures informal ethnic social networks that provide incomplete information and retard the process of language acquisition. The study reported here investigated the effect of motivations, perceptions of attitudes of the host society, acculturation and socioeconomic factors on immigrants' residential concentration. It also sought to expand previous research by examining the relationship between immigrants'residential concentration and social relationships with nonimmigrants. Data for the study were collected in 1999 through a survey of immigrants from the FSU who had settled in one northern city in Israel after 1989. The results show a negative relationship of socioeconomic status and fluency in Hebrew with the percentage of immigrants residing in a given neighborhood. The higher the socioeconomic status and the more fluent the immigrant in Hebrew, the lower the percentage of immigrants in his or her neighborhood. Immigrants who expressed a proactive motivation for migration resided in neighborhoods with a low percentage of immigrants. Immigrants' residential concentration was not found to be related to the development of social relationships with the local population. The implications of the findings are discussed.