A slight rise in immigration during January was noted in the monthly report of the Jewish Agency’s immigration department just released here. According to the report, arrivals numbered 1648 compared to 1506 during January, 1976. It was slightly lower than the January 1975 figure of 1747. The number of immigrants from the Soviet Union increased but there was a small decrease in the number from all of Eastern Europe compared to the same month last year.
The Jewish Agency reported that the rate of noshrim (dropouts) among Soviet Jews who reached Vienna was 58 percent compared to 49.3 percent in 1976. Immigration from other parts of the world remained stable or showed an increase.
OLIM FROM SOUTH AFRICA
Increases were registered among olim from South Africa, according to Max Miodownik, chairman of the Israel branch of the South African Zionist Federation. He said the Federation offices here now interview about 200 olim a week compared to 50 six months ago. He said that aliya activities have increased to an extent that private homes are no longer adequate to hold meetings.
Miodownik predicted that the number of olim from South Africa will reach 1200 this year, double last year’s figure. But he acknowledged that many Jews emigrated from South Africa to English-speaking countries, mainly the U.S. and Canada, rather than to Israel. There are about 120,000 Jews in South Africa and about 20,000 Israelis currently living 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.
