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Begin Oppressed News to Israel Soon

May 14, 1980
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A community of Jews presently living under dire oppression will soon come to Israel where they will be able to live as free citizens, Premier Menachem Begin declared here last night. He would not identify the community or give further details.

His aides today sought to downplay the statement, mode at a Herut women’s convention, for fear of prejudicing the situation of this Jewish community. The aides, therefore, discouraged speculation about what the Premier had had in mind.

Begin made it clear that he was not referring to a Soviet Jewish community. He told the Herut convention that he had been delivered “on important message” related to these Jews’ imminent immigration just before leaving the Knesset to attend the convention.

The Premier indicated that there were additional Jewish communities–apart from the USSR–where Israel was active in a clandestine way to help those who wished to make aliya. In this way, he said the Jewish State was “fulfilling its raison d’etre–to be haven for persecuted Jews.”

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