Approximately 800 Soviet emigre Jews have left Israel and are now staying in Belgium, the Belgian Foreign Minister. Renate Van Elslande, reported today. He said that apart from an unknown few who have returned to Israel, none of the 800 have left Belgium for other countries. These are cases of people arriving in Belgium “in transit in the hopes of being accepted in other countries,” the Minister said.
About 640 of the emigres receive administrative aid from charitable associations in Belgium. “In conformance with the principles of the Rights of Man Charter, the people in question have the right to find themselves a new fatherland.” Van Elslande said he hoped that “most of these people are accepted by the countries where they hope to settle.”
The Minister’s statements came in answer to a written question from Socialist Party Deputy Ernest Glinne. Glinne also asked whether the emigres could not be “redistributed” so that all Common Market countries hosted their share. The Minister answered that the emigres already are present, perhaps in lesser numbers, in France, Italy and West Germany.
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