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Banking on the Russians' plight By Lily Galili Knesset member Amnon Cohen (Shas) has a file in his parliamentary office in Ramle that contains several pages crammed with text in Russian on one side, with an ultra-Orthodox, Hebrew-language greeting, together with his signature on the back. This bilingual publication leads to a number of conclusions: First, the MK is conscious of the environment and makes use of every piece of paper; and second, Cohen, who hails from Bukhara, Uzbekistan, and is closely identified with his ultra-Orthodox party, also has an entirely Russian identity. While these two conclusions are correct, a third one is more surprising: The MK from the traditionalist, religious, Sephardi party is already preparing for elections, and lobbying among the Ashkenazi, secular Russian-speakers. The Russian text includes chapter headings for a brochure Cohen is planning to publish ahead of the elections. This is the community he plans to address. Advertisement Truth be told, his idea is not really innovative. During the last elections, Cohen identified the potential of the last wave of aliyah - and not just among the immigrants from the Caucasians and Bukhara, who are part of Shas' natural target audience. However, he directed all his efforts at a hasty personal campaign, speaking the Russian he still remembered from when he immigrated to Israel in 1973, at the age of 13. That short and unfocused campaign reaped a limited return - between 8,000 and 10,000 votes. This time around Cohen is aiming for more. His target is to get Shas 30,000 Ashkenazi voters from among the Russian-speaking immigrants. An ambitious goal, but many estimates find this is not unrealistic. In the 10 years that have elapsed since the election campaign of "Shas kontrol" versus "Nash kontrol" (nash is Russian for "our"), which placed the Russians represented by Natan Sharansky's Yisrael B'Aliya opposite their "adversary," Shas, the orphaned voters of Yisrael B'Aliya have become the target public of Cohen and Shas. Take, for example, a group of elderly women who invited Cohen to tell them about parliamentary activities, just one of the meetings on his agenda. Or, for that matter, the dozens of requests from people who still feel like downtrodden immigrants who are not treated properly, even after having been here for years. Most of them are elderly and disabled, and were left in a vacuum after Yisrael B'Aliya crumbled. This group of immigrants still requires a sectorial party - and if it's not Russian, then it is Shas. "There is another component here that I have personally encountered," says David Schechter, a writer and journalist who used to be an assistant to Sharansky when he was a cabinet minister. "There is a tendency among the Russians to get closer to tradition, not to religion. I meet them in synagogue, hear what they are talking about. If Shas goes about this properly, they certainly stand a chance." This surprising job of integration has been put into the hands of Gennady Riger, a former Yisrael B'Aliya MK, who now owns a consulting firm. Riger is in close contact with Cohen, and if necessary, with Eli Yishai, too. A while ago, Cohen and Riger had a talk with the minister of industry, trade and labor about formulating an employment plan to help Russian immigrants, and they worked on changes to the Wisconsin welfare-to-work plan, which was not to their benefit. "I don't have to go to primaries," Cohen says, praising his party's system. "Gennady told me the Wisconsin plan is bad for the immigrants, so I just acted. I even cooperated with Yisrael Beiteinu MKs, who pressured Yishai - who of course knew what was happening." Whatever Cohen does not do alone, he does with another Russian-speaker from his party, MK Avraham Michaeli, from Georgia. At present, Michaeli is talking with Chief Sephardi Rabbi Shlomo Amar in an attempt to solve the issue of conversion and civil marriages. "We must resolve the plight of those who have tied their fates to Israel," Cohen declares. "But neither Shas nor any other political framework can do so. That is a matter the spiritual leadership has to deal with. If there is anyone with the spiritual authority to do so, it is Rabbi Ovadia Yosef. The subject is very close to his heart." In any case, Rabbi Yosef has given his blessing to the electoral activity among these new followers of his. The war has already begun Here is proof that this small and unexpected war has already begun: A few weeks ago, an international conference of Russian-speaking Jews was held in Jerusalem. Most of the participants were Israelis. Amid the pre-election atmosphere, the stage was used for sarcastic propaganda purposes. Cohen says Avigdor Lieberman kicked off the sarcasm when he began attacking the damage Shas has done to the immigrants. Cohen was not long in retorting. "You have already tried Lieberman a few times," he said from the stage. "Perhaps next time you'll try something different?" But the more surprising fact is the Ashkenazi, secular Russian-speakers' use of Shas and Chabad (whose interests Cohen represents in the Knesset) services, such as the groups' schools and summer camps. Hundreds of Russian-speaking children study at these institutions, especially those that belong to Or Avner and Lev Leviev's Or Hannah educational network. But the choice seems mainly motivated by their plight, not because they are bowing to proselytizing. Their distress is so great that it overcomes the racist tendencies that large sections of the Russian-speaking public harbor toward Mizrahim. "I am aware of this racism, but it is not as widespread as people think," Cohen says. "Its flames are fanned mainly by the politicians." Anyway, people like to say about Cohen that he is more Russian than ultra-Orthodox and Bukharan. Fact is, he has a dog. Bookmark to del.icio.us   Brown's ultimatum British PM to Knesset: Iran must suspend nuclear bid or face global isolation. One giant leap VIDEO: Israeli-developed device allows paraplegics to walk again.

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