Ingathering Restricted

On no single issue had Israelis been so fiercely unanimous as on the kibbutz galuyoth--the ingathering of the exiles. Immediately after independence, the very first act of the new state was to declare immigration wide open. A year ago, Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion, Israel's George Washington, said flatly: "It was for mass immigration that the state was established, and by virtue of this alone that it will stand."

In 3 1/2 years the Israelis brought in 665,000 newcomers, more than doubling the population. It was as though the U.S. were.to import 50 million new people every year. At one point "Operation Ali Baba" was flying in 1,000 Jews a day from hostile Iraq; "Operation Magic Carpet" flew 55,000 Yemenite Jews to Israel. It was too much for the frail young country to stand.

Last week the era of indiscriminate ingathering came to a reluctant end. The Jewish Agency, a semi-official organization of world Jewry which handles immigration for the government, declared that while immigration would remain unrestricted, ingathering (which involves paying an immigrant's way to Israel) would henceforth be selective, with preference going to the young and able. Since the new policy affects only the would-be immigrants to Israel from the "safe" countries, it will have minor immediate effect. More than 80% of the immigrants have been coming from the "unsafe" countries--Soviet satellite and Arab states--and this group, said the agency, will still be helped.

Bringing in each newcomer costs Israel $2,500. But that is only the beginning. Finding lodging and work for them has become a job beyond the state's capabilities. After three years of feverish construction, Israel is able to build homes for only half the immigrants. The rest must be herded into primitive shelters.

The old immigrants--mainly from Europe--brought capital, skills and drive. The new immigrants--two-thirds from Asia and Africa--bring no capital and few skills. Fewer than 1% have professions, more than half no craft. Where the new state needs pioneers, able and willing to carve civilization out of wilderness, one-fifth of the newcomers require permanent medical care or state help. The proportion of those who are 60 years or older has tripled.

To sustain this burden, Israel is importing eight times as much as it sells abroad; inflation grows worse daily. A top Israeli official warned privately that the continued influx of Oriental Jews--who now make up over 53% of the total population--would depress the country's standards "to and probably below the general Middle Eastern standard." Last week, when the Jewish Agency announced a break in the policy, the general feeling was of relief. Said a Zionist leader: "Long overdue."

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