A total of 10,321 displaced Jews were aided in emigrating from Europe during the first six months of this year, a survey by HIAS revealed today. Isaac L. Asofsky, executive director1 of the organization, noted that 3,554 Jewish DP’s were helped to leave Germany and Austria by the organization as compared with 2,375 during the first half of the preceding year.
Of the total, the HIAS report said, 2,533 refugees were admitted to the United States, 3,458 went to Latin American countries, 787 to Israel, 701 to Australia, 656 to Canada and 656 were repatriated to various European countries. Although the U.S. accepted 1,485 Jewish DP’s from Germany and Austria in 1947, the survey disclosed, only 950 Jews emanating from the occupied zones of Europe reached this country in 1948.
The HIAS report attributed a major share of its increased emigration activities during the past six months to its expanded program in Central and South America where a total of nearly 1,000 persons were admitted over the corresponding figure in the first half of 1947. A special HIAS mission charged with the task of bringing about the lowering, to some extent, of the immigration tars of several of the Latin American countries accounted for the larger number of DP’s admitted this year, Samuel A, Telsey, HIAS president, pointed out.
The survey also disclosed that although the majority of the emigrants came from Gemmy–a total of 2,921–an almost equal number–2,818 left from France, Other countries from which the emigrants came included Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, Denmark, England, Holland, Hungary, Italy, Worth Africa, Palestine, Poland, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey and Spain.
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