New York Philanthopist Funds Soviet Immigrants to Israel

An American Jewish philanthropist has given the Israeli government a hand toward solving one of the most troublesome problems confronting Jewish immigrants arriving from the Soviet Union — the lack of affordable housing.

Joseph Gruss, 86, a New York investment banker described as a billionaire, has established a $20 million fund to provide qualified emigres with no-interest private mortgages.

He did it through the government and the Tefahot mortgage bank, according to Soviet Jewry activist Natan Sharansky, who has been named administrator of the fund.

Sharansky announced the Gruss project, to be named for the philanthropist’s late wife, Caroline, at a news conference here Dec. 21. He said it would benefit some 3,000 Jewish families coming from the Soviet Union, but only if they come to Israel directly.

The fund was announced at the Moscow Soviet Jewry congress last week by Shmuel Azarkh, an official of the Soviet Jewry Zionist Forum, to the cheers of the crowd. Azarkh is from Moscow and lives in Jerusalem.

So-called “dropouts” who tried their luck in other countries before coming to Israel would not be eligible, he stressed.

Sharansky, who heads the Soviet Jewry Zionist Forum, an association of Soviet immigrants in Israel, and is an outspoken critic of the Jewish Agency’s and Absorption Ministry’s handling of the new arrivals, explained how the mortgage fund will work.

Gruss’ fund, and what the government and the Tefahot bank contribute, will allow an immigrant family to take out a mortgage of up to $70,000.

There will be no interest. Principal will be payable in installments as low as $150 a month.

The fund’s headquarters will be in New York. Sharansky will head its Jerusalem branch.

Gruss is a well-known donor to Israeli causes. Two years ago, he set up a $150 million fund for the benefit of Israel Defense Force veterans.