Russian-Speaking Israelis and How They Changed Israel

Thirty years ago, a million Russian-speaking immigrants arrived in Israel. Overnight, they increased Israel’s population by 20 percent—and became one of the largest Russian-speaking communities in the world outside the former Soviet Union. They have changed Israel profoundly. Who are the Russian-speaking Israelis? What did their arrival signify for the country? What was their journey like to becoming Israelis? We discuss these questions with Ksenia Svetlova, Matti Friedman, and Yossi Klein Halevi.

Matti Friedman’s essay Israel’s Russian Wave, Thirty Years Later, and Yossi Klein Halevi’s piece How One Million Russian Immigrants Revitalized Israel appeared in Mosaic in November 2020.