New Jewish Arrivals from Soviet Union Include Families from Georgian Republic

Another planeload of Russian Jews landed at Lydda Airport late last night bringing immigrants from Odessa, Riga and for the first time in years, from the remote Georgian Republic. The two families from Georgia were signatories of the now famous letter to Premier Golda Meir, signed by 18 Jewish family heads, begging for help to emigrate to Israel. One of the Jews from the Georgian Republic who arrived here with his family was Albert Michalshvilli, 35, the son of a rabbi. No other names nor the number of arrivals were given. The new arrivals told newsmen that after the letter was made public, Soviet authorities demanded that the signers send another letter to Mrs. Meir repudiating their first one. But none of the families complied, although they were questioned by the secret police and many were fired from their jobs and had to live on the charity of neighbors, the newcomers said. They claimed that there are 70,000 Jews in Georgia and all want to go to Israel. Whenever a representative of the Interior Ministry visits a Georgian town, he is beseiged by Jews who want to know the status of their visa applications, the arrivals said. They reported that when they left for Israel, about 1,000 Jews came to see them off “and pleaded with us that we continue their struggle from Israel.” The Georgians said their children were permitted to pray three times a day but not to study Hebrew.