Speaking of the plight of the “wandering Jew,” Isaac L. Asofsky, general manager of the Hebrew Sheltering and Immigrant Aid Society, in a report on the activities of HIAS, said that “one has to go back to the eighties and the nineties for a parallel to present day conditions in Jewish affairs.”
“Terrible persecution in Eastern Europe,” he stated, “Jewish mass poverty and an utter hopelessness were then the causes which spurred Jews on to wander in search for new countries. In 1934 it is again the oppression, the general poverty and despair which are the motivating reasons for the wandering Jews.”
IMMIGRATION LIMITED
The differences noted between the two times, according to the HIAS general manager, is that in the eighties and nineties immigration was open to Jews so long as they were not diseased or had criminal records, while today immigration is strictly limited both in numbers and by regulation.
As many as 150,000 Jews have entered the country in one year, Asofsky stated after recourse to the HIAS records. “From 1900 to 1920,” he pointed out, “excepting the years of the war, the flow of Jewish immigrants into the United States never fell below 60,000 a year.”
AVERAGE HAS FALLEN
In the thirteen years from July 1, 1921 to June 30, 1934, the total number of Jewish immigrants amounted to 236,084, or an average of slightly more than 18,000 a year. This amounts to less than one third of the average yearly immigration of the first twenty years of the twentieth century.
“In view of the present day situation,” Asofsky stated, “it is interesting to survey the status of the migration of Jews as far as it affects the United States of America. Prior to June 3, 1921, immigration into the United States was practically unlimited. All were admissible except those who were diseased or had criminal records. On June 3, 1921, the first quota law limiting immigration to the United States came into force. On July 1, 1924, the second and more drastic quota law went into effect. Naturally, these laws restricting immigration had a very serious ef#ect upon immigration, Jewish, of ###rse, included.
MANY FORMALITIES
There is a very marked {SPAN}dif###ce{/SPAN} between the immigration {SPAN}###{/SPAN} the days prior to the enactment of the restrictive period when all were admissible except those suffering from disease or who were criminals. Today, many formalities have to be gone through.
“As a matter of fact, the process begins on this side of the Atlantic. Before the prospective immigrant is granted a visa which permits him to set sail to this country, he or she must be in possession of documents from relatives here who are in a position to take care of the newcomer. There must be sent abroad documents ranging from an affidavit of support to a statement from Bradstreet-Dun testifying to the financial ability of the relatives here. On the other side, the prospective immigrant must present to the American Consul his birth certificate, certificate from the ###ard of Health, a Police record, statement as to his military service and other papers.
ROUTINE TAKES MONTHS
“The HIAS European offices are called upon to assist in the {SPAN}ob##ining{/SPAN} of these documents and a translating and in certifying those issued in foreign languages. Often, months elapse before the entire ‘dossier’ is completed. Where difficulties arise, Hias represents the applicants before Consular and governmental authorities. In other words, the whole procedure has undergone a radical change. As to the extent of the work involved, the following figures tell the story.
“During the period of 1921-1934, no fewer than 1,869,972 persons applied to HIAS offices in the United States for information and advice either in person or through the mail on immigration and cognate subjects. These applicants for guidance had in mind their kith and kin on the other side who wanted to go to other countries. 214,701 documents were prepared by HIAS offices from July 1, 1921, to June 30, 1934, for presentation to American consulates in foreign countries. Since in most instances families were involved, the number of persons served is considerably over half a million.”
HIAS BANK’S AID
With the immigration doors closed to the great majority of immigrants, their relatives in this country could do nothing for their foreign kin except to help them live as best they could in their home lands. The story of this, Asofsky points out, is told in the records of the HIAS Immigrant Bank, founded in 1920 as the HIAS Remittance Bureau.
Since its inception, this bank has transmitted $35,281,163.56 to relatives in Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, Rumania, Russia and other countries. These figures represent 627,505 cases.
SHIFT IN IMMIGRATION
The closed door policy of the United States has also resulted in immigration to other countries. HIAS, working with the Jewish Colonization Association (ICA) under the name of HICEM, opened offices in South America eight years ago. Since then, 50,000 Jews from Eastern Europe have settled there.
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.
