The American Israel Public Affairs Committee disclosed today that it has appealed to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and the House Foreign Affairs Committee to approve a grant-in-aid to help Israel absorb Jewish refugees from the Soviet Union in an amount greater than the $50 million recently proposed by the State Department.
The 2500-word AIPAC memorandum to the Congressional committees did not stipulate any amount but stressed the magnitude of the need and noted the amounts being allocated for the purpose by the Jewish Agency and the Israel government.
The memo said the Jewish Agency estimates that $200 million will be needed to resettle 30,000 Soviet Jews expected to arrive in Israel during 1972 and has ear-marked $260 million more to absorb an additional 40,000 immigrants expected from other countries. The memo said the Israeli government will allocate some $240 million for immigrant absorption. The memo was submitted by Irving Kane of Cleveland, AIPAC chairman, and I.L. Kenen, executive vice-chairman. AIPAC will hold its annual policy conference here April 19-20. Israel’s Foreign Minister Abba Eban will fly to Washington to address the conference on April 20.
HUGE BACKLOG OF URGENT HUMAN NEEDS
In testimony before the House Foreign Affairs Committee two weeks ago, Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs Joseph J. Sisco said the administration proposed a grant of $50 million to Israel for the fiscal year beginning July 1, 1972 in view of Israel’s extraordinarily heavy defense burdens and to help the integration of refugees arriving from the Soviet Union.
An identical sum for Israel was included in the Foreign Assistance Program for the current fiscal year which expires June 30. Meanwhile, several bills containing grants for Israel to help in the absorption of immigrants are before Congress.
AIPAC’s memo noted that “past immigration presents Israel with a huge backlog of urgent human needs” and stated that a great majority of the 13,000 Jews who came to Israel last year from the Soviet Union “are still a long way from absorption.” The memo furthermore noted that funds are necessary for establishing new communities with schools, hospitals, roads and cultural centers.
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