Speech #1020076031

A tired and decrepit Soviet empire has collapsed of its own ponderous weight. What was once a closed and frightened society has emerged into the light of day. shedding their cobwebs of communism and embracing the ideals of democracy. With this transformation has come a flood of refugees. most of them Jewish refugees. who long for freedom in their national homeland. Israel. Mr. President. what began as a struggle for the liberation of the Jewish people in the Soviet Union. now has become a struggle for their integration into Israeli society. Already. since mid1989. 345.000 refugees have resettled in Israel with over 200.000 arriving during the last sear alone. Joining this unprecedented Ingathering of the Jewish people have been 25.000 Ethiopian Jews. a community which owes its survival to your personal intervention in 1985 and 1991. Within 3 years. well over 1 million new immigrants will arrive on Israels shores. beckoned by an ancient call and modern necessity. To put this number in its proper perspective. it is the equivalent of the entire population of Francesome 55 million people--choosing to resettle in the United States by Clearly. the major burden for absorption will have to rest upon the shoulders of Israelis. To this end. they are prepared to accept ever more severe austerity measures. including a drop in their standard of living. as the price for being able to welcome home this last great exodus of Jews from captivity. Every Israeli knows that the increasing social cost of this immigration will demand ever greater national sacrifice. I have no doubt they are prepared to meet this economic challenge with the same grit and tenacity that they have faced challenges to their national security. Already. Israelis have curbed their consumption. downsized their Government bureaucracy. and endured severe cutbacks to their social services. By 1992. Government expenditures for immigrant absorption are expected to reach 18.8 percent of total Government spending as compared to less than 1 percent in 1989. This is equivalent to 10.5 percent of Israels total GNP. The United States. for its part. should be prepared to lend what assistance it can by providing the $10 billion in absorption guarantees which the Government of Israel requiresguarantees. which I must stress. will be used by Israel solely to borrow its own funds on the worlds capital markets.