A sixth transport of some 1, 000 Egyptian Jews, organized by the International Red Cross, will leave Alexandria early next week, the Agudas Israel world executive announced here today on the basis of information from the Red Cross. The vessel will dock at the Greek port of Pireus.
The World Jewish Congress, meanwhile, released a report to the effect that over 17, 000 of Egypt’s estimated 50, 000 Jews have fled the country since last November, and that the exit of Jews from Egypt shows no sign of abatement. It is estimated that thousands of Egyptian Jews who delayed their departure out of fear of the severe European winter have completed their preparations and will soon leave. By late Summer, it is expected, no more than 10, 000 Jews will remain in Egypt.
Basing its estimate on authoritative information, the World Jewish Congress says that the position of the Egyptian Jewish community remains critical despite a number of minor alleviations conceded recently by the authorities. While Jews interned in the early stages of the anti-Jewish campaign have been released and no more internments are currently taking place, nothing has been done to release many Jews committed to prison on trumped up charges.
Most request rated property has been returned to its original owners and communal buildings are also being turned back, but these measures affect only the small section of Egyptian Jewry which was economically best off in the past, the WJC reported. No measures have been taken to make good even part of the damage done to lives and livelihoods of thousands of defenseless and unoffending people, or to restore the property which emigrants were forced to sign away before leaving, the report said.
Even the wealthy, said the WJC, see no future in Egypt and remain only in the hope of salvaging part of their possessions to be used to start life anew elsewhere. The communal organizations are faced with the problem of disposing of buildings and institutions for whose maintenance they no longer have the resources or personnel.
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