Israel's New Wave Of Immigrants

It was through Isaiah that this remarkable prophetic word was given:

"Thus saith the LORD that created thee, 0 Jacob, and He that formed thee, 0 Israel ... Fear not; for I am with thee: and I will bring thy seed from the east, and gather them from the west; I will say to the north, Give up; and to the south, Keep not back; bring My sons from far, and My daughters from the end of the earth" (Is. 43:1,5,6).

During Isaiah's ministry the ten-tribe northern kingdom of Israel was swept into Assyrian captivity; just over a century later the kingdom of Judah was invaded by Nebuchadnezzar and its people taken captive to Babylon. During these dispersions what encouragement the promise of regathering must have been to many God fearing Jews in exile. In due course the Persian Emperor Cyrus opened the way for Zerubbabel and Joshua to lead a relatively small number of Jewish people from Babylon to resettle the land and rebuild the Temple in Jerusalem.

About six centuries later the sad story was repeated. Having rejected their Messiah and the witness of His apostles, the Israel nation was overcome by the power of Rome's legions. There was a yet wider dispersion, destined to continue for more than eighteen centuries. Had God forgotten to be gracious? Throughout those centuries the spirit of the Jewish diaspora was

sustained by such promises as Is. 43:5,6. The time seemed long. The likelihood of regathering to the land of Israel must often have seemed politically impossible. Yet in God's own appointed time His word would be fulfilled.

Within the past half-century we have been privileged to witness the unfolding of that fulfilment in the dramatic developments which led to the recognition of the State of Israel and the gathering back of "Jacob's seed" from east and west, from north and south. The enormous initial influx of immigrants in 1948 inevitably levelled off to a much lower annual average. Indeed in recent years the number of immigrants has slumped, and in some years more Jews have emigrated from Israel than those entering as immigrants.

"I will say to the north, Give up", was God's word through Isaiah. There has for many years been great reluctance on the part of the Russian communist authorities to allow Jews to emigrate, but with Gorbachev and perestroika has come a change of policy. The United States and other western countries have for a long time been putting pressure on the USSR regarding human rights, including liberty for Jews and others to emigrate if they wished. President Gorbachev needs economic and technical assistance from the West to make his policy of perestroika succeed. One reason that he is now allowing much freer emigration is to help convince the west that the human rights issue is being seriously addressed.

In recent decades the limited number of Russian Jews who have succeeded in getting exit visas have tended to emigrate to the United States. Rather ironically, now that restrictions on their leaving Russia are being lifted, the United States is setting a limit of 50,000 to the number of Soviet refugees it will admit in 1990. This means that a greater proportion is likely to emigrate to Israel. Understandably the Israeli government is delighted at the prospect of a new wave of immigrants, probably the largest since 1948. It is estimated that

as many as 700,000 are likely to "make aliyah", the "ascent" to Israel over the next few years. Prime Minister Shamir is quoted as saying: "In five years we won't be able to recognize this country. Everything will change, everything will be better, stronger".

Inevitably neighbouring Arab states see this development as a threat - in general because it strengthens the Israeli nation; in particular because of the effect on Palestinian aspirations if more immigrants are settled in the West Bank area. Representations have been made to Moscow that the emigration of Russian Jews to Israel should be halted until a peace settlement for the Palestinians has been achieved. The Israeli government claims that very few of the new Russian immigrants have chosen to settle in the West Bank. It seems unlikely that Gorbachev will agree to any reversal of policy in the matter. All the indications are that Israel's manpower resources will be very significantly increased as "the north" gives up a large quota of its Jewish population. How remarkably God is watching over His word to perform it!

unknown | Jul 1990
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