A report indicating that the number of Soviet Jewish emigrants seeking ORT technical training in Israel, Rome and New York more than doubled during 1974 will be presented to the National Conference of the American ORT, meeting here at the Americana Hotel from Jan. 24-27, by Dr. William Haber, president of American ORT. More than 600 delegates are expected to attend the 1975 ORT convention.
“The greatest number were served, of course, in Israel where the overwhelming majority of Russian Jews have arrived,” Dr. Haber said. “But those who came for help to the ORT School in Rome last year, where most of those not settling in Israel go from Vienna on their way to the countries of eventual settlement was the largest in recent years. We can see the impact as well at our ORT School in New York.”
He noted that “the final figures for 1974 for our school in Rome are still in the process of being compiled, but the trend is sharply up from before, probably well over 1500. Here they are prepared for the language and customs they will encounter in their country of emigration.”
Dr. Haber predicted that “the required ORT programs for Soviet immigrants in Israel will spiral despite reduction in arrivals in 1974. Many are only just coming out of the ulpan programs, facing for the first time their vocational and professional adjustments. The human stakes are high. Job and career are the determining factors in absorption, and this will make greater demands on ORT.”
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