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Israeli emigration to Berlin: It makes sense

The uproar in Israel about the so-called “Milky” affair has two distinct aspects.
[additional-authors]
October 20, 2014
The uproar in Israel about the so-called “Milky” affair has two distinct aspects. First, it calls attention to Israel’s current economic situation which has caused both real and perceived problems, especially for young people. The other, and rather darker, issue is that it has resulted in an exodus of young Israelis, a number of whom have decided to move to Berlin.
 
I agree that when young men and women voluntarily choose to leave Israel in search of an easier life abroad it is a serious matter that needs to be addressed by the Israel government. As far as I am concerned, however, the problem is the same, whether the émigré leaves in search of “the American dream” in New York or Los Angeles, or hopes to find an easier life in Berlin. Yet it is only when young Israelis choose to settle in Berlin that, as recently reported in the New York Times, “pundits and politicians” denounce them as “anti-Zionist traitors” who have forgotten the Holocaust and happily “move to where Hitler designed the Final Solution.” 
 
Such accusations are not only unfair but totally ignore the changes that have taken place in Germany, particularly in Berlin, in recent years. No one can ignore, nor should ever forget the horrors of the Nazi regime and the Holocaust. Since those dark days, three 
generations have been born. From my own observations, the grandchildren and great-grandchildren of the Nazi era bear no relationship to their forebears. Rather than being anti-semitic, a great number of young Germans are actually “philo-semitic” and display an extraordinary interest in and knowledge of Judaism. And a surprisingly large number have visited Israel, many as volunteers in kibbutzim and other Israeli institutions.
 
As is well known, Israel’s relationship with Germany is today closer than with most other countries; moreover Germany is one of Israel’s most important trading partners.While I do not have reliable statistics, I assume that a significant proportion of Israelis who move to Germany have parents or grandparents who were originally German nationals. That would entitle them to claim German citizenship. As a result they arrive in Germany not as foreigners but as holders of a German passport and are automatically 
entitled to enjoy the many benefits of citizenship. Among these are completely free healthcare including drugs and rehabilitation facilities as well as completely free university tuition, including a generous monthly stipend to help defray living costs. 
 
As anyone who has visited Berlin recently knows, the city offers an attractive and vital Jewish and Israeli scene including many synagogues of all denominations, Israeli, kosher and Jewish-style restaurants and clubs, Hebrew language publications, and both Progressive and Masorti rabbinic seminaries in nearby Potsdam.
 
I agree that it is a tragedy that anyone would wish to leave Israel. But I also believe it is unfair to vilify only those choosing Berlin. When I recently asked a young Israeli woman whom I met there, “why Berlin?” she answered: “Because it’s green, it’s open minded 
and it’s peaceful”. I pray that we will soon be able to say the same of Israel.
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