Immigrants from the former Soviet Union aged 18-29 are more likely to be socially and culturally withdrawn from mainstream Israeli society than their counterparts who are 30 and older, but most respondents in both groups identify with the State of Israel and are satisfied with their absorption in Israel, according to a recent study commissioned by the Israel office of the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee.

The study also found that both groups have little faith in the police or judicial system and are unlikely to have social ties with Arabs or Ethiopian immigrants.

Arnon Mantver, director general of JDC-Israel, said the findings show the need to diminish ethnic hostility and improve Russian immigrants' understanding of Hebrew. But the bottom line, he said, is positive.

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"Despite the potholes, there is recognizable progress in the absorption of immigrants who arrived to Israel as children, compared to immigrants who arrived at a later age," said Mantver.

The study, which is based on interviews with about 1,000 immigrants from the former Soviet Union and was conducted by Prof. Elazar Leshem from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, found that the most significant difference between the two age groups is that those aged 18-29 have a far better grasp of Hebrew. Some 90 percent of immigrants in the younger age bracket said their ability to read, write and speak Hebrew was good to excellent, compared to only 40 percent of older immigrants.

Eighty-seven percent of the younger group and 83 percent of the older group said they feel part of the State of Israel and its problems.

Although most immigrants in both groups said they were satisfied with their absorption in Israel, a whopping 82 percent of the younger group said they were satisfied, compared to 64 percent of the older group. A similar pattern emerged when the study asked whether the immigrants would move to Israel all over again: 74 percent of the younger group said they would, compared to 66 percent of the older group.

Both groups expressed lack of confidence in Israeli institutions, with the police force reaching the top spot in terms of perceived discrimination toward immigrants. The older group of respondents picked the courts for the second spot, while the younger group views the Hebrew-language media as the second most discriminatory institution, with the courts coming in third. Both groups see the Israel Defense Forces in a positive light, followed by the Ministry of Immigrant Absorption.

Russian speakers tend to live in homogeneous immigrant neighborhoods, a trend that is more marked among those in the 18-29 age bracket (90 percent) than the older group (75 percent). The immigrants are particularly unlikely to have social ties with Arabs or Ethiopian immigrants.

However, it appears that the ties between Russian-speaking immigrants and native Israelis are growing stronger: Half the respondents in the younger group said they meet with veteran Israelis, compared to 15 percent of the older group.