Pinhas Sapir, chairman of the Jewish Agency Executive, said today that Israel was capable of absorbing large numbers of new immigrants without too much difficulty but would probably have to adopt an emergency absorption plan and special legislation. Replying to questions at a meeting of army education officers, Sapir said there were 16,000 job openings in Israel at the present moment and that many immigrants could be directed to those jobs after the required training.
Sapir said that despite the difficulties, Israel could integrate large numbers of newcomers more easily than in the early 1950s when a population of 700,000 absorbed an influx of 750,000 immigrants within a few years. Sapir said he was ready to set a personal example by offering his own three-room flat to an immigrant family from the Soviet Union. Sapir also said that there was a much greater potential of financial aid from world Jewry than has been tapped up to now.
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.
