Sorry! I was referring to later period Because even since period the majority of Jews have been avoiding going to Israel especially the one’s from the European nations.
The initial one came as a shock to Israeli establishment when over 80% of those allowed to leave as early as 1989 — chose the United States over Israel. They were welcomed as refugees by the George H.W. Bush administration under the Jackson-Vanik amendment to theTrade Act of 1974.
The Israeli establishment, left and right, was outraged. It was not just about prestige, but rather mainly about demography.
FSU Jewry was perceived as the most important source for Jewish demographic growth compared to a growing Arab ” population in Israel and the Palestinian territories. In a meeting with U.S. Secretary of State George Shultz, Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Shamir successfully argued that the amendment did not apply to the FSU Jewry, since “there are no Jewish refugees since the establishment of the State of Israel.”
