Not all young immigrants are happy here: study
Photo: AP
Young newcomers unhappy
New arrivals more educated than veteran Israelis, but only 18 percent say they are happy here
TEL AVIV - Only 18 percent of new immigrants to Israel between the ages of 18-35 are satisfied with their life here, compared to 43 percent of veteran Israelis in the same age group who expressed similar sentiments, a study conducted by the Hebrew University School of Social Work found.
Professor Eli Leshem conducted the study for the Joint Distribution Committee and will present its findings at a special conference Wednesday for the Absorption Ministry and the Joint called to discuss the difficulties facing young immigrants in the absorption process.
The study shows that although the new immigrants are much better educated than their veteran Israeli peers - 41 percent have completed studies in institutions of higher learning as opposed to 27 percent of the veterans - they are not as happy professionally, because many are unable to find work in their field.
According to the study, newcomers tend to work more in industry and blue-collar jobs than veteran Israelis.
Salaries also reflected the lower standard of living enjoyed by new arrivals: although the salaries were the same, around NIS 4,000-5,000 a month (about USD 1,000) more than 25 percent of young immigrants living out of their parents’ houses are helping their parents financially.
Quarter of respondents say they're not Jewish
The study also focused on the social aspect of immigration, and found that newcomers are lonelier than the veterans. Some 12 percent said they did not feel they could depend on anyone in a crisis, while just 3 percent of the veterans felt the same way. Reciprocally, veterans are more involved in volunteer work than new arrivals.
Interestingly, in answer to questions on how much they felt a sense of belonging to society here, some 25 percent of olim who immigrated between the years 1996-2001 admitted they are not Jewish.
Hanoch Tzamir, assistant to the deputy director of the Ministry of Absorption, said that “integrating new olim into Israeli society is not as easy as everyone has always thought - that they have no needs and no particular problems.”
“The reality is more complex and we are now focusing on the various factors that young olim encounter: the army, work, studies, leadership and youth outside of the regular framework,” he said.
