Leon Dulzin has “great hopes” that Jewish emigration from the Soviet Union will increase substantially “by the end of the year.” Only 88 Jews were allowed to leave the USSR last month.
Dulzin, who is chairman of the Jewish Agency and World Zionist Organization Executives, told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency today that his hopes are bouyed by the renewal of U.S.-Soviet arms talks and other signs of a thaw between the superpowers.
He said the Russian leadership seems to be anxious to improve relations with the U.S., and a liberalization of their policy on Jewish emigration would seem to be “the cheapest way” to achieve a better atmosphere. According to Dulzin, the Soviets “have been keeping them (the Jews) as hostages” and “now may be the right time for them to cash in this chip.”
KAMPELMAN APPOINTMENT SEEN AS MESSAGE
Meanwhile, well placed sources in Tel Aviv suggested that the Soviets have taken the appointment of Max Kampelman, a Jew, to head the U.S. delegation to the Geneva arms talks, as a clear message from Washington. The sources said a senior Soviet diplomat was heard to refer to the appointment as a manifestation of “Jewish influence” in the U.S.
Implicit in this, the sources believe, is a possible Soviet assessment that Kampelman’s appointment signals Washington’s interest in an alleviation of the restrictions imposed on Jewish emigration from the USSR. Whether or not this was intended by the Administration — and it probably was not — the sources in Tel Aviv were pleased that the message was being read that way in Moscow. They said they hoped it contributes to a change for the better in Soviet policy toward Jewish emigration under the new leadership of Mikhail Gorbachev.
DROPOUT PROBLEM TO BE ATTACKED
Of the 88 Jews allowed to leave Russia last month, only 29 chose to go to Israel; the rest opted for immigration to the U.S. and Canada. Dulzin said in this connection that if the Soviets reopen the gates for Jewish emigration, Israel and the Jewish Agency would resume their fight against “neshira” (dropping out).
The majority of Soviet Jews who emigrated in recent years have preferred to go to the U.S. and other Western countries rather than to Israel. Dulzin said “neshira” must be eliminated “because we want them (Russian Jews) to remain Jews.” In Dulzin’s view they cannot do this in the United States “which is understandable, considering that they have been cut off from the Jewish mainstream and have no Jewish knowledge.”
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The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
