The agreement concluded between the Soviet government and the Ort in July providing for the building of co-operative dwellings for Jews who have relatives in America willing to defray part of the expense in dollars will not become effective this year, owing to the shortage of building materials, the Jewish Telegraphic Agency was informed yesterday.
According to the terms of the agreement made public by the Berlin headquarters of the Ort on July 25th, 40% of the building cost was to be secured by the Ort in dollars from American relatives.
The remaining sixty percent of the cost was to be borne by the prospective builders who were to secure the funds in the form of long term loans extending over a period of twenty years to be granted jointly by the Soviet government and the Ort.
The Soviet government moreover undertook to supply part of the material and the labor required for the building of the houses.
The Soviet authorities, the Jewish Telegraphic Agency was informed, are unable to supply building materials even for dollars and the agreement will not become effective until after the winter season.
The Ort offices in Moscow have received numerous inquiries from American relatives of Russian Jews who are displaying great interest in the project which, it is expected, will aid many Russian Jews in solving the difficult housing problem.
It is held advisable by the Ort for those American Jews desiring to aid their Russian relatives, to pay in instalments on the housing aid project in order that their relatives may be among the first to receive government assistance in the building of the houses under the supervision of the Ort.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
