Israelis have opened their hearts and homes to new Soviet olim by inviting thousands of new Soviet arrivals to their Passover Seders.
They did so in response to a daylong telethon held Wednesday specifically to elicit Seder invitations to the new Israelis from the Israeli public.
The 12-hour appeal, which was organized by the Army Radio, Educational Television and the Jewish Agency, resulted in 3,000 invitations and about 18,000 acceptances.
Many of the acceptances came from Soviet Jews only in the country a few days.
Computers were used to match Israeli families with immigrants on the basis of language, professional background and special interests.
Particularly encouraging was the cooperation that came from Moscow Radio, which made available to Army Radio star Alex Ansky and his team a studio in the Soviet capital. The Israelis interviewed Soviet Jews awaiting exit visas or passage to Israel.
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The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
