Leon Dulzin, chairman of the World Zionist Organization and Jewish Agency Executives, said here that it is now more urgent than ever to reduce the rate of drop-outs — Soviet Jews who settle in countries other than Israel after leaving the USSR — because of a new development in Soviet emigration policy. According to Dulzin, Soviet authorities in the Ukraine and more recently in Moscow, have rejected many of the affidavits sent by Israeli relatives of Russian Jews seeking to emigrate for “family reunion.”
Dulzin said the Soviet rationale in these cases is that the would-be emigrants have closer relatives who have recently left the USSR ostensibly for Israel and ask: “Why does your brother/uncle/cousin not send a family reunion application?” The answer in many cases, Dulzin said, is that the brother, uncle or cousin is not in Israel but in the U.S.
He noted a drop-off in emigration figures from the USSR in recent months but did not link it directly to the new policy of rejecting applications from relatives in Israel. He said it was too early to tell whether the drop-off was a consequence of the superpower tensions resulting from the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan.
In January, 1980, 2900 Jews left the Soviet Union, 900 fewer than in January, 1979, Dulzin said and the downward trend continued during the first half of February. He said the figures for March would be a significant indicator of the reasons since they would reflect emigration processes set in motion after the Afghan crisis erupted Dulzin said there are currently 400,000 family reunion applications in the hands of Soviet Jews seeking to emigrate and that applications were being sent to Russia at the rate of 15,000 a month.
URGES ORGANIZATIONS ACT
According to Dulzin, the drop-outs are preventing the emigration of other Soviet Jews. He cited this “new development” as an added reason to discourage the drop-outs. Dulzin has been in the forefront of a campaign to persuade the American Jewish community and especially HIAS and the Joint Distribution Committee, to cut their aid programs to Soviet Jewish emigres.
So far he has had only limited success. He claimed, however, that the Jewish communities in 16 American cities, including Los Angeles, Cleveland and Miami, have accepted Premier Menachem Begin’s proposal that aid be given only to those Soviet Jews who have close relatives in the U.S. The others would be left to fend for themselves and presumably would have to go to Israel. Only Jews holding Israeli visas are allowed to leave the Soviet Union.
Dulzin said the issue will be discussed at a meeting of the joint government-Jewish Agency coordinating committee here next week, chaired by Begin.
Speaking on another matter, Dulzin indicated that the Jewish Agency would accept a compromise formula proposed by Begin to resolve the long-standing dispute over whether the Agency or the Absorption Ministry should have exclusive control of immigration and absorption. The Begin plan would share authority between the two.
Dulzin also said that he expected next week’s meeting here of the Jewish Agency’s Board of Governors to approve on $80 million budget for “Project Renewal,” the major slum rehabilitation program being carried out by Israel in partnership with world Jewry. Dulzin said there is $15 million cash on hand for the project and another $120 million has been pledged.
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