There is neither rhyme nor reason to the way some Russian Jews are granted exit visas without delay while others must wait years for the desired papers, a Jewish Agency official told journalists today. The newsmen were on a press tour conducted by the Jewish Agency and Keren Hayesod officials which traced the processing of new immigrants from their arrival at Lydda Airport to the absorption center at Ashkelon.
They were on hand at 4 a.m. this morning to watch a chartered El Al jet arrive on a special flight from Vienna with a capacity load of Jewish emigres from the Soviet Union. Georgian Jews comprised more than half of the new arrivals. A few came from the Bokharian region and other parts of Soviet Asia and the rest from European Russia and Latvia.
According to Yehuda Dominitz, deputy director of the Jewish Agency’s immigration and absorption department, Jews from Georgia and other Soviet republics bordering on Turkey and Iran account for a much larger proportion of Soviet Jewish immigration now than they did last
JTA has documented Jewish history in real-time for over a century. Keep our journalism strong by joining us in supporting independent, award-winning reporting.
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.
