Jewish Agency treasurer Akiva Levinsky suggested this week that the time allocated for Soviet emigrants to stay in Vienna should be limited to several hours only. Thus, Levinsky hoped, there would be no need for HIAS to function in that city.
Speaking at the Jewish Agency Executive on Tuesday, Levinsky said that if HIAS opposed the closing of its office in Vienna, it would be proof that all it wanted was to encourage the dropout of potential immigrants to Israel. Levinsky said that those Jews who would not want to emigrate to Israel should be. transferred immediately from Vienna to Rome — where it could be easier for the Jewish Agency to convince them to continue on to Israel.
Jewish Agency Executive chairman Leon Dulzin sent a cable Tuesday to Max Fisher, chairman of the Agency’s Board of Governors, asking him to convene a meeting of the American Jewish leaders who are serving on a special committee aimed at reducing the dropout rate. In his cable, Dulzin noted that in a recent meeting in Jerusalem with Premier Menachem Begin, American leaders, including representatives of HIAS and the Joint Distribution Committee, agreed that Soviet Jewish emigrants should not be considered political refugees. This was an apparent reference to a new U.S. Refugee Act of 1980 making it easier for political refugees to enter the U.S. and providing additional aid for them.
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