Robert Bandanza
April 9th, 2006, 08:06 AM
Quarter of Toronto Jews are Israelis
By Amiram Barkat
Toronto and environs have one of the largest concentrations of Israelis in the world, according to a recent study commissioned by the Israeli consulate and the Ministry of Absorption.
Most of the Israelis living in the Toronto area are secular, young and not involved in Jewish communal life. A large majority are lower- or middle-class, with two-thirds earning less than 40,000 Canadian dollars annually and 14.5 percent living below the poverty line. "The neighbor's grass isn't always greener," Absorption Ministry Director-General Mirla Gal said in response to that figure.
The study was carried out by Israeli House, a division of the Absorption Ministry that operates in 13 Israeli consulates around the world to cultivate ties with local Israelis.
In 2004, about 2,700 Israelis immigrated to Canada, an all-time record. They joined the 62,000 Israelis who have emigrated there since 1948. A decisive majority settled in Toronto, the country's business capital. Israelis constitute about one-fourth of the 200,000 or so Jews living in and around the city.
Absorption Ministry officials say that Canada's popularity among immigrants has increased in recent years, as the United States has tightened its restrictions.
David Gidron, who carried out the study, says he is most concerned by the finding that the Israelis are not giving their children a Jewish education. He says the Israelis are not aware of their Jewish identity and many of them begin asking themselves where they went wrong only when their children marry non-Jews.
Toronto's Jewish community is considered one of the largest and closest in North America, which prides itself on members' frequent visits to Israel. However, Gidron says the ties between Israelis living in Toronto and the established Jewish community there are "loose." He says the Israelis perceive Canadian Jews as cool and distant.
The study calls on Toronto's Jewish community to make more of an effort to improve ties with the Israelis in their midst.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/703780.html
By Amiram Barkat
Toronto and environs have one of the largest concentrations of Israelis in the world, according to a recent study commissioned by the Israeli consulate and the Ministry of Absorption.
Most of the Israelis living in the Toronto area are secular, young and not involved in Jewish communal life. A large majority are lower- or middle-class, with two-thirds earning less than 40,000 Canadian dollars annually and 14.5 percent living below the poverty line. "The neighbor's grass isn't always greener," Absorption Ministry Director-General Mirla Gal said in response to that figure.
The study was carried out by Israeli House, a division of the Absorption Ministry that operates in 13 Israeli consulates around the world to cultivate ties with local Israelis.
In 2004, about 2,700 Israelis immigrated to Canada, an all-time record. They joined the 62,000 Israelis who have emigrated there since 1948. A decisive majority settled in Toronto, the country's business capital. Israelis constitute about one-fourth of the 200,000 or so Jews living in and around the city.
Absorption Ministry officials say that Canada's popularity among immigrants has increased in recent years, as the United States has tightened its restrictions.
David Gidron, who carried out the study, says he is most concerned by the finding that the Israelis are not giving their children a Jewish education. He says the Israelis are not aware of their Jewish identity and many of them begin asking themselves where they went wrong only when their children marry non-Jews.
Toronto's Jewish community is considered one of the largest and closest in North America, which prides itself on members' frequent visits to Israel. However, Gidron says the ties between Israelis living in Toronto and the established Jewish community there are "loose." He says the Israelis perceive Canadian Jews as cool and distant.
The study calls on Toronto's Jewish community to make more of an effort to improve ties with the Israelis in their midst.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/703780.html