@Lizbeth, pure “holy naivety.” I already covered this in
post #86—copying it just for you:
Then the collapse of the USSR: a decade of unemployment, crime, inflation, defaults, and despair followed. Meanwhile, Israel was offering new repatriates an "absorption basket"—about 10,000 shekels per family (roughly $2,500 in the 1990s). Half was paid upon arrival at the airport, the rest over six months. Add to that free Hebrew courses (ulpan), tax breaks for 3.5 years, housing assistance—up to 50% of rent for the first three years and 2% interest mortgages for home purchases—and job support, including programs for professionals like doctors and teachers, plus grants for starting businesses. I vividly remember the 1990s, when my city was plastered with ads: "For a small fee, we’ll uncover your Jewish roots and help you repatriate to Israel. 100% guaranteed." For a couple hundred bucks, anyone could secure "verified" Jewish ancestry. Even now, Google serves me ads for legal services promising help with Israeli repatriation. Something tells me the situation was similar in places like Argentina—people are the same everywhere.
From 1948 to 2025, the total number of repatriates from the former Soviet Union and their descendants is roughly 2,174,800, making up 28.2% of Israel’s non-Arab population (7,707,000).
Roughly a third of Israelis today are former Soviet citizens or their descendants. Back in the USSR, they were godless atheists, singing hymns to Lenin and Stalin, only to become "Jews" overnight and fly to Israel for benefits, housing, and privileges. This aligns eerily with Revelation 2:9 and 3:9.
The irony is striking: just yesterday, a third of Israel’s population consisted of Party communists, Pioneers, and Komsomol members belting out:
"The fight goes on and on,
Our hearts are restless still.
And Lenin, ever young,
Leads October’s thrill."
Today, those same people sing: "I firmly believe in the coming of the Messiah. It may not happen soon, but I will wait for him." This song draws from Maimonides’ Thirteen Principles of Judaism, a declaration of faith in the Messiah’s eventual arrival. But how can you take such a rapid ideological U-turn seriously?
P.S. Many of my classmates, acquaintances, and friends emigrated to Israel after the collapse of the USSR. Before they repatriated to Israel, none of them knew they were Jewish. But now, all of them—100%—are certain they know which tribe they come from.