Expulsion of Soviet Jews Raises Eyebrows in Holland

The expulsion of a group of Soviet Jewish emigres from the Netherlands on Monday has raised eyebrows here.

It was an unusual action considering that the Dutch authorities normally grant asylum to foreigners asking for it.

Even more out of character was the vigor of the predawn raid on a hostel for asylum-seekers in Eindhoven, southeastern Holland, and the speed with which they were ousted from the country.

Local cops, with 100 riot police, broke into the shelter at 6 a.m. By 9 a.m., 43 Soviet men, women and children were aboard a charter flight to Tel Aviv.

One man was hospitalized with an injured back after leaping from a second-floor window of the building during the raid. His wife and son were allowed to remain in Holland for now.

One family of three also remained behind, claiming they had not yet received a final decision on their appeal against expulsion.

Two others were not in the center when the police arrived.

The immigrants who were returned to Israel are among some 200 Soviet emigres who had immigrated to Israel, disliked it and came to the Netherlands during the past year seeking refugee status.

But according to Dutch Justice Minister Aad Kosto, “these people didn’t satisfy the conditions required to be granted refugee status on humanitarian grounds.”

“I acted under the terms of our laws,” Kosto told reporters at The Hague. Israel is not a country whose inhabitants have any reason to fear persecution, he stressed, observing that “Israel’s constitution says that every Jew is welcome in the country.”

It is true, he added, that many Soviet Jews who immigrated to Israel cannot find jobs.

‘WARMLY WELCOMED’ BACK IN ISRAEL

But some of those expelled claimed they suffered discrimination in Israel.

They said that because their spouses were not Jewish, their children were not recognized as Jewish according to halacha — religious law–and they suffered discrimination as members of the Russian Orthodox Church.

Those expelled ranged in age from 8 months to 78 years.

Israel’s ambassador to the Netherlands, Michael Bawly, told reporters that the group would be “warmly welcomed” in Israel.

“They are Israeli citizens and are free to leave the country and come back to it,” the envoy said.

As for the expulsion, “it’s a Dutch action,” he said.

According to Bawly, these people had problems in Israel with jobs and housing. “But those problems do not give them the right to seek political asylum in Holland,” he said.

According to Dutch police, further expulsions are likely as increasing numbers of refugees enter the country, escaping a deteriorating economy and unstable political conditions in Eastern Europe and elsewhere.

A group of Vietnamese who had been living in Czechoslovakia applied for political asylum here but were returned to Czechoslovakia.