Russian Jews Look to Canada for Asylum

by Faisal Kutty

Hundreds of Israeli citizens of Russian origin have successfully claimed refugee status in Canada over the past five years. According to a recent report in the Canadian newsmagazine Maclean’s, the Federal Immigration and Refugee Board has heard a total of 1,655 claims from Israeli citizens between 1992 and 1995. During this period independent federal tribunals granted refugee status to 726 of these claimants.

The report suggested, however, that pressure from Canadian Jews has put a damper recently on the rate of acceptance. Successful applicants have to convince an independent tribunal that they fit the Geneva Convention definition of a refugee—the person must have a “well-founded fear of persecution” in the country from which he or she is claiming asylum.

Over the past seven years more than 500,000 Russian Jews have gone from the former Soviet Union to Israel. The social tensions resulting from the influx reportedly have created a hostile environment for Russian Jews in Israel. The plight of Russian Jews first was highlighted at the official government level in Canada by a study entitled Israel: Jews from the Former Soviet Union, prepared by the Refugee Board’s research directorate.

The report, made public in February 1993, claimed that the unemployment rate within this group was between 30 and 40 percent and that Russian children reported verbal and even physical abuse from their classmates in Israel. The paper also concluded that certain preferential treatment accorded to Russian Jews—tax exemptions, better mortgage conditions, etc.—had created resentment among Jews from North Africa, the Middle East and other groups who make up the lower strata of Israeli society.

Supporters of Israel have been upset over the perceived liberal approach of the Canadian tribunals. Adam Szweras, media relations office for the Israeli consulate in Toronto, told the Washington Report that “Israel is not a refugee-producing country.” He added that there are “no valid refugee claims from Israelis.”

Paul Hardy, regional public affairs officer for Canada’s Immigration and Refugee Board, disagrees with Szweras. “I don’t know what a refugee-producing country is,” said the Board spokesperson. “Every case is heard on its own merits using criteria set out in the United Nations Convention.”

The feelings expressed by the Israeli consulate are shared by many members of the Canadian Jewish community, presently estimated to be more than 400,000. “The numbers accepted in Montreal are quite bizarre,” said Irving Abella, a professor at Toronto’s York University and a prominent member of the Jewish community. The former president of the Canadian Jewish Congress told Maclean’s that the “Montreal office has been reading the files from a different perspective and is being far more gullible, far more believing.” Professor Abella did not return a call from the Washington Report.

“Israel is not a refugee-producing country.”

In fact, the percentage of applicants to the Montreal office of the federal refugee board being approved is declining. Between January 1996 and October 1996, the Montreal office granted asylum to only 75 Israelis, while denying asylum to 635.

The Maclean’s report suggested that the decrease in successful applicants from Israel resulted partly from pressure exerted on the board by supporters of Israel, who felt that the influx tarnished Israel’s image. The report noted that the acceptance rate started diminishing in 1994, when the federal immigration panel began “using altered criteria that resulted from a conference involving board members and outside experts, including members of the Canadian Jewish community.”

Asked directly whether pressure from Canadian Jewish organizations had contributed to the lower success rate of Israeli claimants, Hardy told the Washington Report that there was “no pressure.” He said that “training sessions were held to ensure that Toronto and Montreal used the same criteria” in assessing potential refugees.

Jewish critics of the liberal approach initially taken by the board acknowledge the hostility and discrimination in Israel which has been fueled by the influx of Russian Jews, but point out that such problems are not restricted to Israel. “There are always social problems in any country,” said Szweras of the Israeli consulate. Professor Abella, a specialist in immigration and labor matters at York University, was more direct. “There are real hard-core refugees in the world who need to come here,” he said. “I don’t like to see their places taken by people who don’t really need asylum.”

Refugee advocates and even the Immigration and Refugee Board disagree with Professor Abella. They contend that Canada must leave its doors open and assess each case on its merits, and not base the decision exclusively on the country of origin.