A recent study revealed that Israeli-born children of immigrants from the former Soviet Union are as integrated into Israeli society as those born to Israeli families who have been in the country for multiple generations.

According to a study done by the Myers-JDC-Brookdale Institute, children of Soviet immigrants are entirely integrated into Israeli society, while Israeli-born children of Ethiopian immigrants still face integration difficulties.

Open gallery view Russian Jews attend the 'From Russian with Love' concert at the Yarkon Park. Credit: Dudu Bachar

Approximately 2,000 teenagers aged 12-17 participated in the study, in which researchers compared integration data among children of Soviet immigrants, Ethiopian immigrants, and children of veteran Israeli families. The study looked at the percentage of the teenagers that were able to pass every class at their respective school. While 60% of Russian teens passed every class, and 58% of veteran Israelis passed, only 28% of Ethiopian teens did the same.

The study also showed that only 10% of Russian teens fail three or more classes compared with 31% of Ethiopian teens. Only 8% of veteran Israeli teenagers failed three or more classes. Furthermore, the study revealed that while 55% of Ethiopian teenagers make use of public school assistance, while only 15% of veteran Israelis and Russians do the same.

Moreover, 68% of Russian teens stated that they feel solely Israeli, while only 13% of Ethiopian teenagers said the same.

According to the Ministry of Immigrant Absorption, the statistics show that the critical mass of former Soviet immigrants have been integrated, allowing for the limited amount of state resources to be directed toward communities in need, such as those from Ethiopia.