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A brave new world...
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BY: SUSAN H. KAHN Assistant Editor
CJN covered the arrival, resettlement and success of Soviet Jews in Cleveland
Over the last 40 years, the Cleveland Jewish News has chronicled the journey of Soviet Jews, from the oppressive conditions they lived in to their thwarted attempts to emigrate. We reported on the national movement to free Soviet Jewry, which began right here in Cleveland, and followed their journey n getting out.
Eventually, about 8,700 Russian Jewish immigrants settled in Cleveland. Now the story was about their psychological, spiritual, and cultural journey.
Following are excerpts from CJN stories about their resettlement:
Fitting in
Arrivals greeted n Jan. 1990
Expressions of joy mingled with tears, excitement, and a touch of nervousness as a disparate group of Jews n some speaking as much Russian as English n gathered at Gate 6 of Cleveland Hopkins Airport to meet TWA Flight #717 ... As the plane pulled in, the crowd gathered in a receiving line holding signs in Cyrillic. Flowers, balloons and chocolates were ready to be pressed into the hands of the newly arrived Soviet immigrants.
furniture shadchen n June 1990
Until a few months ago, many newly resettled Russian Jews were hard-pressed to acquire much-needed furniture for their homes n even if generous Clevelanders were willing to give it to them. Steve Belkin, 26, devised a Furniture Bank, a matchmaking service that distributes donated furniture to recently resettled Russian families.
Bridging the distance n Jan. 1992
Tanya Zalenkov remembers “My very first time as a patient at the Russian clinic at Mt. Sinai (Medical Center) … I couldn’t talk to anyone or understand anything without an interpreter. Only one year later, I was an interpreter there myself.”
… The Resettlement Project has attracted volunteers of all ages from Rose Levy, 86, who visits with Russian residents at Menorah Park weekly; to young mother Holly Millstein, who drives newly arrived immigrants to doctor appointments; to whole families, who have “adopted” a Russian family and helped them.
Finding work
The most daunting task facing the new immigrants was finding employment. Many were highly educated and had held professional positions in the Soviet Union, but their lack of fluency in English proved a formidable barrier to finding comparable work. Cultural barriers further complicated the employment process:
Can you spare a job? n Aug. 1990
Yuri Palatnikov is employed by Gross Builders as a structural engineer, the same work he did in Russia ... But Jerry Yarovich, former cellist with the Odessa Symphony Orchestra, now works in a lumberyard for Forest City Enterprises. He took the job rather than go on welfare, but he worries about his hands …
Let us go … to work n Jan. 1993
… Judy Small of the Jewish Vocational Service says the agency’s philosophy is to get the Russians a job n any job n within the first four months of their arrival to prevent their going on welfare … She estimates that JVS places between 60-70% of émigrés in some employment within their first year and says her biggest hurdle is convincing her clients that “the first job is not the last job.”
Back to basics n April 1992
The roster for the special nursing-assistant class looked like a medical directory. It included a cardiologist, burn-unit nurse, medical student in his senior year, anesthesiologist and two internists. Because these medical professionals are unfamiliar with the language as well as with many Western medical techniques, they are reworking their options.
After the three-week class, over half of these students have secured employment and are working as nursing assistants and orderlies at Menorah Park and Montefiore.
Achieving success
Like every immigrant group before them, the Soviet Jews began the slow process of assimilation. Their children quickly learned English and were soon indistinguishable from their American friends. Bright and disciplined, many Russian students became academic standouts. Their parents juggled jobs, family responsibilities, and study n English, and often, courses that would allow them to re-enter their professions:
A bright future n Jan. 1981
One year after her arrival in Cleveland, Riva Adamovsky eyes the future with renewed optimism because she just graduated from the Ophthalmic Assistant Training Program at Mt. Sinai Hospital.
Journey into American life n Sept. 1981
Drs. Svetlana and Vladimir Zelitsky came to Cleveland from Odessa six years ago with their daughter Marta, 9. Vladimir, now a physician-in-training and soon-to-be chief resident in ear, nose and throat at University Hospitals, had to pass special tests for foreign medical graduates and then do his residency training over again.
Svetlana, an M.D. and a DDS in Russia, had to go back to her second year of dentistry because Ohio law states one must graduate from a U.S. school of dentistry. After working as a dental assistant to Drs. Dan Butler and Stuart Katz, she is associated with them in general dentistry.
Artistic freedom n July 1984
Russian artist Lazar Sklutovsky was 68 and had no knowledge of English when he immigrated to the U.S. with his wife. He faced the added prospect of building a new art portfolio. Today, at age 70, he is exhibiting his first paintings and drawings made in the U.S. at the Jewish Community Center.
Living American dream n May 1995
Boris Royak, 23, graduated this week from Case Western Reserve University and next fall will attend the CWRU School of Medicine... Graduating with a double major in chemistry and computer science, he has maintained a 3.9 grade-point average while juggling an active social life and part-time jobs. He helped found and became president of a new chapter of Alpha Epsilon Pi fraternity. He was also president of the badminton club and an executive officer of the Case Entrepreneurial Society in college.
Ten years and counting n Nov. 2003
A free computer and printer, compliments of earlier Russian immigrants, and advertising from Mt. Sinai Hospital and Ohio Savings, allowed Olga and Michael Feinstein to launch Russkiy Magazin shortly after immigrating to the U.S. in 1993. They recently added “RMTV” (“Russian Magazine TV”).
Discovering Judaism
Most Soviet Jews who emigrated had little knowledge of Judaism. In a country where the practice of religion was banned, “Jewish” was merely a designation on one’s identification papers, bringing discrimination. Cleveland Jewry’s religious institutions eagerly welcomed the émigrés and encouraged their participation.
Jewish commitment n Oct. 1981
“I want to know what it means to be a Jew,” says David Sosinov, 16, who arrived with his parents from Moscow four months ago. David received ritual circumcision at Mt. Sinai Hospital and has been enrolled in The Hebrew Academy. He is looking forward to becoming a bar mitzvah at Congregation Zemach Zedek.
Soviets under chupah n April 1982
Fourteen Russian couples were remarried in a joyous traditional religious ceremony last Sunday at Beth Am Congregation (Community Temple). All had been married under civil law in the USSR.
Ready for b’nai mitzvah n April 1992
“In Azerbaijan-Baku, where I come from, I wasn’t allowed to even open a Hebrew prayer book,” says Michael Dubinsky, 13. He is one of six youngsters, all natives of the former Soviet Union, who have been preparing for their b’nai mitzvah this Sunday at Park Synagogue.
“I pledge allegiance …”
Citizenship is the final step in becoming an American.
Project aids 300 n June 1995
The Cleveland Citizenship project was created this year to assist 300 local refugees attain their U.S. citizenship … Part of a national project, this effort may also be vital to older immigrants, who make up one-third of those assisted.
The crucial test n Jan. 1997
Natalie Sheyfland teaches citizenship classes to Russian Jewish refugees, almost all of them well over retirement age. There is a new urgency to naturalize for Berta Buryakovskaya, 84. She and her husband, 89, will lose their Supplemental Security Income (SSI) and food stamps if they don’t become citizens.
Keeping their government benefits is only part of the motivation to become U.S. citizens, the elderly students say. “We want to be equal to natural-born citizens … We want to vote … We don’t want to be afraid.”
“I pledge … to Jewish Welfare”
By 2000, many of the immigrants had made significant leaps economically but not philanthropically. Russians, who prefer to be philanthropic in informal and personal ways, were distrustful of American-style organized Jewish philanthropy. Few Russians understood how Jewish agencies are funded:
Reaching out n July 2000
The New American Leadership Training Program is the first of a series of five-month intensive courses designed to teach these relative newcomers about the community’s history and explain the integral roles that tsedakah and volunteerism have played here.
Currently, out of the 100 people on the JCF board, not one is a New American. Outreach efforts made this year by the Federation’s Campaign 2000 have been much more aggressive and achieved good results.
Revolution in giving? n April 2001
Although the actual dollar amount the New Americans contribute to the Jewish Welfare Fund is a very small portion of the 2001 campaign, the results of Federation’s outreach efforts reflect a healthy new-found spirit of giving within this community … The increase in the average New Americans’ gift is currently 53% over last year’s.
Gratitude
Despite their reluctance to affiliate with the organized Jewish community, the New Americans were not unappreciative for the assistance they had received. The CJN noted their thanks:
Community ‘spasibo’ n April 2001
Nearly 200 people packed the Russian Tea Room in Lyndhurst for a festive spasibo (thank-you) celebration, which recognized the efforts of Jewish agencies, volunteers and others who helped over 6,000 residents of the former Soviet Union rebuild their lives here … the event was and broadcast on international television to Russian viewers.
skahn@cjn.org
Over the last 40 years, the Cleveland Jewish News has chronicled the journey of Soviet Jews, from the oppressive conditions they lived in to their thwarted attempts to emigrate. We reported on the national movement to free Soviet Jewry, which began right here in Cleveland, and followed their journey n getting out.
Eventually, about 8,700 Russian Jewish immigrants settled in Cleveland. Now the story was about their psychological, spiritual, and cultural journey.
Following are excerpts from CJN stories about their resettlement:
Fitting in
Arrivals greeted n Jan. 1990
Expressions of joy mingled with tears, excitement, and a touch of nervousness as a disparate group of Jews n some speaking as much Russian as English n gathered at Gate 6 of Cleveland Hopkins Airport to meet TWA Flight #717 ... As the plane pulled in, the crowd gathered in a receiving line holding signs in Cyrillic. Flowers, balloons and chocolates were ready to be pressed into the hands of the newly arrived Soviet immigrants.
furniture shadchen n June 1990
Until a few months ago, many newly resettled Russian Jews were hard-pressed to acquire much-needed furniture for their homes n even if generous Clevelanders were willing to give it to them. Steve Belkin, 26, devised a Furniture Bank, a matchmaking service that distributes donated furniture to recently resettled Russian families.
Bridging the distance n Jan. 1992
Tanya Zalenkov remembers “My very first time as a patient at the Russian clinic at Mt. Sinai (Medical Center) … I couldn’t talk to anyone or understand anything without an interpreter. Only one year later, I was an interpreter there myself.”
… The Resettlement Project has attracted volunteers of all ages from Rose Levy, 86, who visits with Russian residents at Menorah Park weekly; to young mother Holly Millstein, who drives newly arrived immigrants to doctor appointments; to whole families, who have “adopted” a Russian family and helped them.
Finding work
The most daunting task facing the new immigrants was finding employment. Many were highly educated and had held professional positions in the Soviet Union, but their lack of fluency in English proved a formidable barrier to finding comparable work. Cultural barriers further complicated the employment process:
Can you spare a job? n Aug. 1990
Yuri Palatnikov is employed by Gross Builders as a structural engineer, the same work he did in Russia ... But Jerry Yarovich, former cellist with the Odessa Symphony Orchestra, now works in a lumberyard for Forest City Enterprises. He took the job rather than go on welfare, but he worries about his hands …
Let us go … to work n Jan. 1993
… Judy Small of the Jewish Vocational Service says the agency’s philosophy is to get the Russians a job n any job n within the first four months of their arrival to prevent their going on welfare … She estimates that JVS places between 60-70% of émigrés in some employment within their first year and says her biggest hurdle is convincing her clients that “the first job is not the last job.”
Back to basics n April 1992
The roster for the special nursing-assistant class looked like a medical directory. It included a cardiologist, burn-unit nurse, medical student in his senior year, anesthesiologist and two internists. Because these medical professionals are unfamiliar with the language as well as with many Western medical techniques, they are reworking their options.
After the three-week class, over half of these students have secured employment and are working as nursing assistants and orderlies at Menorah Park and Montefiore.
Achieving success
Like every immigrant group before them, the Soviet Jews began the slow process of assimilation. Their children quickly learned English and were soon indistinguishable from their American friends. Bright and disciplined, many Russian students became academic standouts. Their parents juggled jobs, family responsibilities, and study n English, and often, courses that would allow them to re-enter their professions:
A bright future n Jan. 1981
One year after her arrival in Cleveland, Riva Adamovsky eyes the future with renewed optimism because she just graduated from the Ophthalmic Assistant Training Program at Mt. Sinai Hospital.
Journey into American life n Sept. 1981
Drs. Svetlana and Vladimir Zelitsky came to Cleveland from Odessa six years ago with their daughter Marta, 9. Vladimir, now a physician-in-training and soon-to-be chief resident in ear, nose and throat at University Hospitals, had to pass special tests for foreign medical graduates and then do his residency training over again.
Svetlana, an M.D. and a DDS in Russia, had to go back to her second year of dentistry because Ohio law states one must graduate from a U.S. school of dentistry. After working as a dental assistant to Drs. Dan Butler and Stuart Katz, she is associated with them in general dentistry.
Artistic freedom n July 1984
Russian artist Lazar Sklutovsky was 68 and had no knowledge of English when he immigrated to the U.S. with his wife. He faced the added prospect of building a new art portfolio. Today, at age 70, he is exhibiting his first paintings and drawings made in the U.S. at the Jewish Community Center.
Living American dream n May 1995
Boris Royak, 23, graduated this week from Case Western Reserve University and next fall will attend the CWRU School of Medicine... Graduating with a double major in chemistry and computer science, he has maintained a 3.9 grade-point average while juggling an active social life and part-time jobs. He helped found and became president of a new chapter of Alpha Epsilon Pi fraternity. He was also president of the badminton club and an executive officer of the Case Entrepreneurial Society in college.
Ten years and counting n Nov. 2003
A free computer and printer, compliments of earlier Russian immigrants, and advertising from Mt. Sinai Hospital and Ohio Savings, allowed Olga and Michael Feinstein to launch Russkiy Magazin shortly after immigrating to the U.S. in 1993. They recently added “RMTV” (“Russian Magazine TV”).
Discovering Judaism
Most Soviet Jews who emigrated had little knowledge of Judaism. In a country where the practice of religion was banned, “Jewish” was merely a designation on one’s identification papers, bringing discrimination. Cleveland Jewry’s religious institutions eagerly welcomed the émigrés and encouraged their participation.
Jewish commitment n Oct. 1981
“I want to know what it means to be a Jew,” says David Sosinov, 16, who arrived with his parents from Moscow four months ago. David received ritual circumcision at Mt. Sinai Hospital and has been enrolled in The Hebrew Academy. He is looking forward to becoming a bar mitzvah at Congregation Zemach Zedek.
Soviets under chupah n April 1982
Fourteen Russian couples were remarried in a joyous traditional religious ceremony last Sunday at Beth Am Congregation (Community Temple). All had been married under civil law in the USSR.
Ready for b’nai mitzvah n April 1992
“In Azerbaijan-Baku, where I come from, I wasn’t allowed to even open a Hebrew prayer book,” says Michael Dubinsky, 13. He is one of six youngsters, all natives of the former Soviet Union, who have been preparing for their b’nai mitzvah this Sunday at Park Synagogue.
“I pledge allegiance …”
Citizenship is the final step in becoming an American.
Project aids 300 n June 1995
The Cleveland Citizenship project was created this year to assist 300 local refugees attain their U.S. citizenship … Part of a national project, this effort may also be vital to older immigrants, who make up one-third of those assisted.
The crucial test n Jan. 1997
Natalie Sheyfland teaches citizenship classes to Russian Jewish refugees, almost all of them well over retirement age. There is a new urgency to naturalize for Berta Buryakovskaya, 84. She and her husband, 89, will lose their Supplemental Security Income (SSI) and food stamps if they don’t become citizens.
Keeping their government benefits is only part of the motivation to become U.S. citizens, the elderly students say. “We want to be equal to natural-born citizens … We want to vote … We don’t want to be afraid.”
“I pledge … to Jewish Welfare”
By 2000, many of the immigrants had made significant leaps economically but not philanthropically. Russians, who prefer to be philanthropic in informal and personal ways, were distrustful of American-style organized Jewish philanthropy. Few Russians understood how Jewish agencies are funded:
Reaching out n July 2000
The New American Leadership Training Program is the first of a series of five-month intensive courses designed to teach these relative newcomers about the community’s history and explain the integral roles that tsedakah and volunteerism have played here.
Currently, out of the 100 people on the JCF board, not one is a New American. Outreach efforts made this year by the Federation’s Campaign 2000 have been much more aggressive and achieved good results.
Revolution in giving? n April 2001
Although the actual dollar amount the New Americans contribute to the Jewish Welfare Fund is a very small portion of the 2001 campaign, the results of Federation’s outreach efforts reflect a healthy new-found spirit of giving within this community … The increase in the average New Americans’ gift is currently 53% over last year’s.
Gratitude
Despite their reluctance to affiliate with the organized Jewish community, the New Americans were not unappreciative for the assistance they had received. The CJN noted their thanks:
Community ‘spasibo’ n April 2001
Nearly 200 people packed the Russian Tea Room in Lyndhurst for a festive spasibo (thank-you) celebration, which recognized the efforts of Jewish agencies, volunteers and others who helped over 6,000 residents of the former Soviet Union rebuild their lives here … the event was and broadcast on international television to Russian viewers.
skahn@cjn.org
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| Soviet activists who stayed behind helped build a new Jewish life |
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