A total of 20,324 Soviet Jews immigrated to Israel in October, a record number for the fifth consecutive month, the National Conference on Soviet Jewry has reported.
In addition, 290 Soviet Jews arrived in the United States directly from Moscow in October, according to the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society.
In addition to the Soviets, 840 immigrants from other countries arrived in Israel last month.
Since the beginning of the year, 121,752 Soviet Jews have arrived in Israel through the end of October, the highest annual number of immigrants to Israel since the nation’s early days.
And the record figures are expected to rise. In Jerusalem, Israeli Absorption Minister Yitzhak Peretz has forecast that 75,000 immigrants will arrive in the next two months.
Quoting “a senior aliyah official,” Peretz told the Cabinet’s ministerial committee on aliyah Sunday that between 300,000 and 400,000 Jews are expected to arrive in 1991.
“The Jews in the Soviet Union feel they had better do it today, or they may not be able to do it tomorrow,” Peretz told reporters at the end of a meeting of the committee. “Soviet Jews lack a feeling of security.”
In addition, Soviet Jews continue to immigrate to other countries, with assistance from the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society, which helps Soviet emigres in Rome and Vienna, in addition to those who arrive directly from Moscow.
In Rome, 91 Soviet Jews were waiting to emigrate as of the end of last week. Of that number, seven are bound for the United States, 67 for Canada and 17 for Australia.
Also in Rome were 61 Iranian Jews, all of them bound for the United States.
In Vienna, as of the end of last week, 429 Jews were being processed by HIAS, of whom 139 were Soviet Jews. Of the group, 67 were bound for West Germany, 42 for Canada, 25 for Australia and five for the United States.
There were also 229 Iranians in Vienna, the vast majority of them bound for the United States, with four going to Canada. The remainder of the Jews being processed in Vienna as of last week were Eastern European Jews.
(JTA correspondent Gil Sedan in Jerusalem contributed to this report.)
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