Health and Human Services Secretary Louis Sullivan last week praised the Jewish community’s efforts to resettle Soviet Jews in the United States, as he officially announced a federal grant of over $40 million to the Council of Jewish Federations.
The money, provided under the Voluntary Agency Matching Grant program, matches funds to non-profit agencies that provide support services to refugees.
Sullivan said the grant, which includes funds for resettlement in both 1989 and 1990, was “the largest matching grant award that the Office of Refugee Resettlement has ever made to a private resettlement agency.”
The Cabinet official had special praise for the federation system’s willingness this year to carry the financial burden of resettling 8,000 Soviet Jewish refugees with no federal funding, covering the full costs of transportation, medical costs and resettlement for two years after they enter the United States.
Another 32,000 are entering the country in 1990 with their costs shared between the federal government and the federations.
CJF is presently lobbying the administration to admit 40,000 fully funded Soviet Jewish refugees in 1991. Sullivan told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency that the request “was under review.”
Addressing leaders of Jewish groups May 16, Sullivan said he found his recent trip to Israel “a profound, enlightening experience.”
At the close of his speech, Sullivan said he wished to “step out of my role as secretary for a moment” and “mention how grateful I am, as a black American, for the many contributions Jewish Americans have made to our country, including contributions to the black community.”
He reaffirmed his belief that there is a historical alliance between blacks and Jews, noting the commitment of Jewish activists during the civil rights struggle.
He said ties between the two communities must not be severed, “even by demagogues or misguided individuals who peddle anti-Semitism while claiming to speak for the black community.”
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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.
