A total of 871 Jews left the Soviet Union in May, it was announced Monday by the Soviet Jewry Research Bureau of the National Conference on Soviet Jewry (NCSJ). This brings the 1987 total through May 31 to 2,302, compared to last year’s figure of 914. The Intergovernmental Committee for Migration in Geneva told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency that 230 Soviet Jews went to Israel in May. In April, 717 Jews left the Soviet Union, with 168 immigrating to Israel. Israel has been the destination of 587 Soviet Jews this year.
Commenting on the highest yearly Soviet Jewish emigration figure since 1982, when 2,688 Jews left, NCSJ noted the “slow but continuing upward trend in Jewish emigration in the last several months.”
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