Head Tax Impact Seen Proportion of Soviet Academics Coming to Israel Has Dropped Recently by 20-30 P

The proportion of academics and professionals among Jewish immigrants arriving from the Soviet Union has dropped from 40 percent to between 20-30 percent in recent weeks, apparently a direct result of the boosted visa fees imposed by Soviet authorities on university-educated Jews seeking to leave Russia. The disclosure was made in a radio interview by Hillel Ashkenazi, director general of the Absorption Ministry.

Absorption Minister Natan Peled meanwhile called for vigorous but non violent opposition throughout the world to the new Soviet exit taxes levied on academicians and scientists. He termed the fees “ransom” and claimed that their institution was “the most blatant error made by the Soviet Union.” Peled said on a radio interview that Moscow had failed to appreciate Western opposition to its ransom demand.

Ashkenazi reported the first substantial flow of Jewish immigrants from Bukhara, a Soviet Asiatic republic. He said his ministry has created a special team to work out plans to absorb the Bukharan emigres. He said they would be housed in groups dispersed around the country. The first Bukharan colony will be established in Tiberias in Galilee, he said.

Telephone conversations with Jewish sources in the USSR indicated widespread demoralization among Jews unable to pay the stiff visa fees and desperate efforts by some families to raise the money. There were also reports of disorganization and confusion on the parts of both Jews and Russian authorities over the payment of the new fees.

REPORT SIX JEWISH FAMILIES HAVE PAID HUGE EXIT FEES

It was learned that six Jewish families have so far paid the exorbitant amounts demanded for exit permits. The first of the families paid 26,000 rubles, more than $25,000 for visas for parents and their four sons, the youngest, aged nine, obviously not a recipient of higher education in the Soviet Union. The name of the family was withheld. The father is a lecturer at an academic institution and the mother is a qualified teacher. According to sources in Russia, the family sold all of its property and borrowed money from relatives in the expectation that they would repay the loan through friends and family in the US once they arrived in Israel. On Aug. 17 the family was told to pay 22,000 rubles in order to leave. When the money was raised a few days later, the authorities demanded an additional 3000 rubles for the two younger sons.

According to Jewish sources, no procedures have been worked out for the payment of the new visa fees by the various Soviet bodies dealing with the matter and Jews prepared to pay receive no specific instructions. A Moscow Jew identified as Katrov was instructed by the local visa office to deposit his money in a bank and wait. But the bank refused to accept the deposit because it had no instructions. In Vilna however, the visa office was taking a hard line toward Jewish academicians who are warned that if they do not pay the fees immediately their visas would be cancelled. Other reports from Russia indicated that the Soviet authorities refuse to accept payment in rubles and insist on foreign currency.