Categories: Op-Eds

Ukrainian Aliyah Big Boon for Israeli Economy

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March 18, 2022, 8 AM ET

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Let's start with a few figures: In 1989, there were a little more than 4.5 million people in Israel. After the Soviet bloc crumbled, Israel too in nearly a million immigrants from the former Soviet Union in the space of two years. In other words, by 1990, immigrants from the FSU comprised about one-fifth of the population.

Despite the absorption difficulties, this wave of aliyah made a major contribution to Israel's development More than half of the adult olim arrived with university degrees and post-secondary job skills and became an important part of founding the high-tech sector. The wave of immigration brought us 110,000 engineers, 80,000 technicians, 35,000 teachers, 17,000 scientists, 40,000 doctors, dentists, and nurses, and about 60,000 certified industrial workers.

The contribution to Israel's growth both in terms of real numbers and relative numbers was enormous. The GDP measures a country's economy, but a more important figure is the per capita GDP. China's GDP currently stands at $14.7 trillion, compared to Israel's "mere" $402 billion, but the per capita GDP in China is $8,840, compared to $43,600 in Israel – nearly five times more. Immigration by an education population is a major factor in Israel's economic growth.

The country is once again about to see a large wave of immigration, and it is already having an effect. There are complaints about Israel not being able to take them in for a variety of reasons, mostly economic ones. Actually, we can't allow ourselves not to take them in.

About half of the Ukrainian arrivals will come with academic degrees at a time when the country is suffering a shortage of workers, especially engineers. According to the Innovation Authority, as of 2021, there were 13,000 unfilled jobs in the high-tech sector, and 60% of companies were unable to hire people for them. As a result, the government is making preparations to open its doors to foreign high-tech workers. But a massive influx of an education population of Ukrainians will make that unnecessary.

But high-tech isn't the only sector in need of high-quality personnel. The construction sector needs some 5,000 supervisors, which directly affects the number of housing units contractors can build per year. The hotel industry is complaining that it is short 16,000 workers, and it, too, wants to bring foreign laborers to Israel to meet its needs. There are other examples of fields in need of workers, but in my humble opinion, these are sufficient. Instead of complaining, Israel should focus on taking in the refugees from the Ukraine war. Israel accommodated the wave of aliyah from the FSU when it was smaller and economically weaker. This time, it should be much simpler. Preparations will need to be made at the bureaucratic level to absorb them in Hebrew classes and sign the children up for school. Professional training frameworks in Ukrainian must be established for those who do not have the necessary skills or education to flourish in the Israeli economy.

Israel should set a goal: Within a year of their arrival, Ukrainian olim should be able to work and support themselves. If it works takes appropriate action, we will avoid the incidents of the 1990s, when scientists were working as cleaners. The time is right, and this wave of immigration will succeed, but only if we let it.

{Written by Michael Humphries and reposted from the IsraelHayom site}