The Jewish Agency said Sunday it would send a special emissary to Italy shortly to try to convince Soviet Jews in transit centers there to come to Israel.
But some Soviet Jewry activists here do not think much of the idea.
Jewish emigres from the USSR have been having prolonged waits in Italy to obtain refugee status in order to enter the United States.
The reason is that the number of refugee slots allocated by Congress failed to keep pace with the accelerated departure of Jews and other emigrants from the Soviet Union last year.
As a result, U.S. immigration officials in Rome have denied refugee status to at least 179 Jews since last September. Hundreds of others are said to be waiting.
Jerusalem claims some 300 Jews are presently stranded in Rome and could be persuaded to come to Israel if, after reapplying for refugee status, they still cannot gain entry to the United States.
According to Uri Gordon, head of the agency’s aliyah department, several families have already made arrangements to come to Israel.
But Soviet Jewry activists here oppose the Jewish Agency’s plans, the Jerusalem Post reported. They say the Soviet Jews will regard the agency’s emissary as a “vulture that has come to pick over the remains of the noshrim (dropouts).”
The Public Council for Soviet Jewry predicts that between 30,000 and 40,000 Jews will be allowed to leave the Soviet Union in 1989.
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