The arrival of Jewish immigrants from the Soviet Union has reached unprecedented proportions. Two planeloads a day have been landing for the past five days, the Absorption Ministry reported. Another planeload arrived last night. The government does not disclose the number of emigres arriving from the USSR. But the capacity of each plane is well over 100. (Jewish Agency Treasurer Leon Dulzin told the JTA in New York yesterday that 10,000 Russian Jews arrived in Israel between March 1- Nov. 30, 1971.)
According to the Absorption Ministry, nearly all of the newcomers are satisfied with the housing provided them. But one family of four from Vilna who arrived last night refused to accept the allocated housing and was still at the airport this morning arguing with officials. The family demands a three room flat in Natanya where the Absorption Ministry says no housing is available. Two families from Soviet Georgia were also encamped at Lydda Airport awaiting advise from relatives as to whether they should accept the housing offered them by the Absorption Ministry.
The latter announced today the opening of a synagogue for immigrants from Georgia at Ashkelon where a large concentration of the emigres is located. One of the complaints of the arrivals from Georgia has been that there were no synagogues in the places where they were sent.
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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.
