The story of the airlift by which the 45.000 Jews of YemenTransjordanwere brought to Israel is stranger than fiction. It is said that an old Yemenite tale that prophesied the Jews would leave on the. wings of a silver eagle. has come true. Most of the states energy has been devoted to integrating the immigrants into the community and economy of Israel. Not only did they have to be housed and fed. but many of the DPs had to be cared for patiently until they could live again as normal human beings. And the newcomers from Africa and the Middle East had to be taught how to live in a westernized society. Words cannot describe the magnitude of this task. Could we shoulder the problems involved in admitting 150 million refugees into the United States in a 5year period? Would we live under a system of the strictest economic austerity and lowered standards of living in order to provide a home for the worlds persecuted? Could we match the reckless unselfishness with which Israel opened her gates to them? Although much remains to be done. the first sign that the integration of immigrants is successful came in 1951. All newcomers were given the vote automatically 4 months after their arrival. and in the first election in which they cast ballots. they showed their political stability by helping reduce the strength of both left- and rightwing extremist parties. The last 5 years have been difficult.
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immigrants refugees