Another group of 150 immigrants from the Soviet Union arrived today in Israel via Vienna. Among them was Shlomo Dresner, one of the Kishinev trial defendants who was sentenced to three years’ imprisonment. After his release he received his exit visa.
Many of the newcomers demanded to be sent anywhere to help the fighting boys. But they were sent by the Absorption Ministry and Jewish Agency officials to absorption centers throughout the country.
The arrivals today indicated that the Jewish Agency was stepping up the pace of its airlifts from Vienna. On Sunday, the day after the outbreak of the new Middle East war, a total of 420 Russian-Jewish emigres landed on a single El Al jumbo jet. Jews continue to leave the Soviet Union for Israel despite the war. According to unconfirmed reports, 83 crossed into Austria yesterday by train and two train loads of emigrants reportedly reached Czechoslovakia.
Meanwhile, a cable was received from 45 Soviet Jews addressed “to the government and people of Israel.” It said: “Beloved brothers and sisters. Another tragic military adventure by the Arab rulers who are war-crazed began on Yom Kippur and is due to end in annihilation for their people. Both sides involved, Arabs and Jews, will suffer bloodshed. We cannot describe in words how shocked we are by these events and how much we identify with the people of Israel. Let us just say that we have no shadow of doubt in the bravery and heroism of our people and of their ability to withstand aggression as has already been proven in other cases. We are with you in these fateful days.”
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.
