Deputy Premier Yigal Allon told the Knesset yesterday that Israel demands that the recently suspended education tax on Jews leaving the Soviet Union must be abolished altogether. He said Israel would not be satisfied. with a temporary freezing of the measure which could be “unfrozen at any time the USSR wished to do so.” He said Israel was satisfied that the tax is not being implemented at the moment.
Allon spoke in reply to an agenda motion by Gahal opposition leader Menachem Beigin. He said that some 100,000 Soviet Jews have asked relatives in Israel to apply to Soviet authorities for family reunion permits on their behalf. Allon also said that Israeli authorities are actively seeking to draw the attention of foreign powers to the problem of Jews in Arab countries. He said other governments and individuals and groups of Jews and non-Jews “are doing a lot to help us in this important campaign.”
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