EILAT – World Jewish Congress CEO and Executive Vice President Robert Singer said Friday that the State of Israel is not taking sufficient advantage of “the reservoir of potential” offered by Olim from the former Soviet Union. “Israel failed to do this in the 1970s, 80s, and 90s, and continues to fail at it today,” Singer said in an interview session with Russian-Israeli journalist Lena Lagutina at the Limmud FSU 2017 conference in Eilat. 
“We aren’t taking full advantage of this reservoir of capabilities and potential… there is still much work to be done,” Singer said, adding that part of the problem with Olim absorption in Israel is that fact that Olim are not getting enough incentive to stay. “Israel must invest more in education and creating opportunities to keep those who came here en masse and can now find themselves anywhere in the world.”
During the interview, Singer also encouraged Olim from the former Soviet Union to increase their participation in political life. “One of the greatest mistakes made by my generation,” said Singer, who immigrated to Israel from Ukraine in 1972, “is that we didn’t want to influence politics… in retrospect, that wave of immigration brought so many talented people, who were just trying to survive. I want to tell them, and you, that your active participation in Israel’s civil and political life is critical.”
