The Euro-Asian Jewish Congress (EAJC) Secretary General, Professor Michael Chlenov took part in the 10th International Conference, which took place in the Interdisciplinary Center in Herzliya.
The Herzliya conference is a reputable international forum, the participants of which number representatives of the political, business, and intellectual elite of Israel, as well as leading foreign experts. The forum servers as a platform for expert discussion, exchange of ideas, and presentation of various initiatives. Some of the become a base for decisive decisions, which define the future of Israel, to be taken.
When speaking at the plenary meeting dedicated to the 20th anniversary of the “Large Aliyah”, the EAJC Secretary General concentrated on certain repercussions of the Large Aliyah, which, according to him, are not generally discussed at similar forums..
Michael Chlenov spoke about the fact that Israel becomes “Russian-speaking.” Michael Chlenov noted, “On one hand, this created a situation where the Russian Israeli, or, at least, most of them, create a certain Russian Jewish diaspora, and in is thus viewed as 'former compatriots.' On the other hand, Russian culture in Israel, from a sociological perspective, is still a cultural conglomerate of a minority that has little prestige and which grows on the periphery of the elite of Israel. Nonetheless, the “Russians” have invaded the political elite of Israel... They have made significant contributions to the development of high technology, culture, medicine, science, but this success is not in any way tied to life and culture based on the Russian language.”
He underscored that the Large Aliyah led to a radical change of the social and political attitude of the former Soviet society towards Israel. “The Jewish state went from being a disgusting and mysterious symbol of Zionist evil and the imperialistic threat to a friendly and hospitable country.” The EAJC Secretary noted. “Israel is no longer an enemy in the eyes of the average Russian, Ukrainian, or Kazakh. It should be underscored that the post-Soviet territory did not have the neo-anti-Semitic and so-called anti-Zionist and anti-Israeli campaigns as a reaction to the events in the Near East, so typical of Western countries.”
As Chlenov underscored, the Large Aliyah “has serious influence of the character of the relationship between Israel and Russia, Israel and other countries of the FSU, if in spontaneous and emergent democratic forms.”