opinion
To Help its Immigrants,
Israel Must Invest in Education
BY BARBARA BIRCH
Jews who believe that Israel is an important
refuge for the Jewish people aspire for Israel
not only to welcome those in need but to help
them succeed as citizens of Israel.

Whether it’s Europeans escaping increased
antisemitism, Americans fulfilling a dream of
living in the Jewish homeland, a rescue mission
from Ukraine or the long-awaited reunification of
Ethiopian families, each story of a Jew arriving
in Israel and starting a new life carries the hope
of achieving the vision of Israel as a place where
we all belong.

But too many olim (immigrants) become margin-
alized once they arrive. Aliyah to Israel included
more than 20,000 new Israelis in 2021. For mid-
dle-class families who settle in Jerusalem or a
Tel Aviv suburb and have jobs with comfortable
salaries, a new life in Israel is the fulfillment of
a dream. But for the Ethiopian, Ukrainian and
so many other immigrants who arrive with few
resources — and at times, little more than a back-
pack — the experience proves quite different.

“Operation Solomon” airlifted 14,325 Ethiopian
Jews to Israel in 1991. The next generation of
Ethiopian children is growing up in Israel, but
they aren’t faring as well as they should be.

Today, Israel has 159,500 citizens of Ethiopian
origin (about 1.72% of the population), and they
face significant social disparities. They have low
matriculation eligibility rates compared to other
students, lower completion of service in the
Israel Defense Forces, low rates of higher educa-
tion and gaps in quality employment for women.

The Ethiopian community deserves to be an inte-
gral part of Israeli society, yet their integration
and that of other immigrant populations require
a significant investment in education for them to
succeed. Since February, more than 15,000 Ukrainian
refugees have arrived in Israel — nearly all
women and children. Considering the statistics
on the Ethiopian community, we should be wor-
ried about their future in Israel as well. Ukrainian
immigrants, like many others, often settle in
peripheral communities in the north and south of
the country, where educational opportunities are
much weaker than in the wealthier cities.

Thousands of young olim in Israel’s geographic
and economic periphery are not able to succeed
due to an education system that is increasingly
challenging. Israel’s education ranks 42 (of 78) in
science and 41 in math in the PISA (Programme
14 SEPTEMBER 1, 2022 | JEWISHEXPONENT.COM
for International Student Assessment) ranking
results (2018). The weakest areas are in the north
and south of the country, where the populations
include high percentages of immigrants and
fewer government resources.

Israel’s low teacher salaries and large class sizes
led to strikes last spring. If Israel doesn’t invest in
its educational infrastructure, cities like Kiryat Yam
in the north and Ashkelon in the south — both
popular destinations for immigrant families — will
find their children with limited options for success.

When we provide better educational oppor-
tunities, young students are significantly more
likely to pursue higher education and better jobs.

In Kiryat Yam, a new STEAM (science, technology,
engineering, arts and math) Center built by ORT
gave ninth-grader Aviv instruction in a maker lab,
where he learned advanced technologies such
as 3D printing. The experience has given him the
option of a future career in engineering, some-
thing he had never considered before.

For Eden, the youngest of eight in an Ethiopian
family, World ORT’s Kfar Silver Youth Village
addressed her challenges and provided her with
the support she needed to build her confidence
resulting in her completing her studies and her
matriculation exams. Today, she is working in a
hospital as part of her national service and plans
to study sociology.

While we hope that there will be improvements
to the educational infrastructure, for now, much
of the investment in peripheral communities
comes from non-governmental organizations.

By investing in early-childhood education, we
will not have to provide as many interventions
to support these populations later in life. They
will succeed on their own; they will pass matric-
ulation exams, serve in the IDF, continue on to
higher education or work in jobs that provide for
them and their families.

The measure of success of any immigrant pop-
ulation is the success of the next generation. The
immigrant dream in Israel — and everywhere else
— is that the next generation will have access to
a high-quality, productive life. The first critical
pathway to that life is education. We can help by
investing in the education of thousands of olim
arriving in Israel’s periphery, ensuring that new
Israelis don’t fall short of their aspirations. Our
support for educational programs can alleviate
the cycle of poverty that currently exists and
prevents these populations from achieving full
engagement in Israeli society. JE
Barbara Birch is the president and CEO of ORT
America. Chinnapong/adobestock
J