Coming Home: Media and Returning Diaspora in Israel and Germany

CHAPTER TWO: RUSSIAN-LANGUAGE MEDIAIN ISRAEL AND GERMANY

CHAPTER TWO RUSSIAN-LANGUAGE MEDIA IN ISRAEL AND GERMANY Chapter 1 established the necessary foundation for a more thorough comprehension of FSU immigrants’ media consumption patterns, comparing various social, political, and ideological aspects of the respective reception contexts in Israel and Germany and the sociocultural features of the two immigrant communities. The final component of this foundation is an assessment of the Russian-language media maps in these countries and the principal patterns of exposure to them derived from the media consumption surveys. This chapter is divided into two parts—Israel and Germany—each opening with an inventory and content analysis of various Russian-language electronic and printed media, including in-depth interviews with editors and publishers, followed by evaluation of factors considered responsible for development of the mass media oriented toward Russian-speaking immigrant communities in the both countries. Finally, we compare consumption of Russian-language and majority language media among FSU immigrants, as reflected in media consumption surveys. RUSSIAN-LANGUAGE MEDIA IN ISRAEL Russian-language media have flourished in Israel since the onset of mass immigration from the FSU. During the 1990s, 130 Russian-language periodicals , including four daily newspapers, sixty weeklies, forty biweekly and monthly magazines, and about twenty quarterly and annual publications were available in Israel. An overwhelming majority were published locally and only 5 percent were imported from the FSU (Caspi & Elias, 2000). Most were published at the beginning of the decade, paralleling the arrival of hundreds of thousands of immigrants. As the pace of immigration subsided 31 32 COMING HOME toward the end of that decade, the number of newspapers significantly declined . At present, one daily newspaper, seven weekly magazines, and about a dozen local newspapers are available at nearly all Israeli newsstands and at bookshops and grocery stores catering to Russian-speaking customers. The most extensive research on the content of Russian-language newspapers published in Israel at the onset of mass immigration was conducted by Zilberg, Leshem, and Lissak. According to their study, most of the editorial material published between 1990 and 1992 was of a segregative character. Numerous articles criticized Israeli society for its negative attitudes and discrimination toward FSU immigrants, while others emphasized the immigrants ’ cultural superiority over the native Israelis. In this manner, Russian-language newspapers strengthened Russian immigrant community cohesion and highlighted the boundaries between the newcomers and their hosts. On the other hand, material that could help readers familiarize themselves with the host country, its culture, political agenda, and economic situation, was published only rarely (Zilberg, 1995; Zilberg & Leshem, 1996; Zilberg, Leshem, & Lissak, 1999). A more recent study conducted by Ben-Yakov (1998) revealed a growing balance between segregative and integrative materials. On the one hand, Russian-language newspapers still devoted considerable space to news of the FSU, satisfying readers’ longings for their old homeland and reducing uncertainty about the fate of relatives remaining there. The news columns of most such newspapers, however, were nearly identical to those of the Hebrew dailies, thus familiarizing readers with current events in Israel. Entertainment and cultural supplements, too, displayed balance between materials aimed at preserving the original cultural identity of their readers and those that acquaint them with the host culture. This was also true of sport sections, in which immigrant athletes’ achievements were covered alongside those of Israel-born basketball and soccer stars. It seems, therefore, that the Russian-language newspapers in Israel follow their predecessors from the early twentieth century, that is, newspapers established by the immigrants from the East Europe in the United States. In this regard, Park (1922) pointed out that through examining the content of these newspapers “it is possible to estimate the extent to which the immigrant people have actually taken root in the United States and accommodated themselves to the forms, conditions and concrete purposes of American life” (ibid.: 307). Similarly, Zubrzycki (1958) stated that a growing acculturative role of the ethnic press parallels an increased maturity and success of particular ethnic communities in the host society. This tendency toward more extensive coverage of the host society gained momentum in early 2000, parallell with the outbreak of the Al-Aqsa Intifada. Today, Russian-language daily newspapers primarily emphasize current events in Israel, offering extensive political and economic commentary and a wide range of supplements geared to the diverse needs of immigrant 33 RUSSIAN-LANGUAGE MEDIA IN ISRAEL AND GERMANY readers, who seek to familiarize themselves with various issues concerning Israeli society, including...