United Hias Service, the worldwide Jewish migration agency, expressed gratification that Attorney General John Mitchell has agreed to use his legal authority to allow Soviet Jews to enter the United States under section 212 (d) (5) of the Immigration and Nationality Law, generally known as parole. Max M. Fisher, president of the Council of Jewish Federations and Welfare Funds, was also praised by HIAS for his effective leadership in interpreting to our government the various needs of Soviet Jews. Harold Friedman, president of United Hias Service, and Gaynor I. Jacobson, executive vice-president, lauded Mitchell for his action.
They had joined in the press conference held last Wednesday by Congressmen Emanuel Celler (D., N.Y.), Peter W. Rodino Jr. (D., N.J.) and Edward I. Koch (D., N.Y.), in which twelve other Congressmen of both political parties participated and at which it was announced that steps would be taken to implement this statute in behalf of Soviet Jewry. The agency indicated that the parole provision had been used with great success in the case of Hungarians in 1956, Chinese in 1961 and Cubans in 1965. “The United States,” Friedman said, “has now taken a positive step to achieve family reunion after long periods of separation caused by war, revolution and other international crises. United Hias Service is prepared to assist in all cases that come to its attention.”
RELATIVES URGED TO CONTACT HIAS
HIAS noted that it is expected that Mitchell’s action will facilitate the admission of Russian Jews who receive a passport and exit visa. The Jewish migration agency also expressed belief that many of the technicalities of the Immigration and Nationality Law that caused delays in achieving this reunion will now be eliminated. Jacobson indicated that the agency currently has several thousand active cases on file and will proceed at once to reexamine them in the light of this new development. “However,” he stated, “in order to achieve results in this major breakthrough, it is essential that American relatives initiate the process of preparing a letter of invitation (vysov) which is necessary under Soviet law, in order for the applicant to receive permission to leave.”
HIAS, he said, is prepared to help and advise in the preparation of this letter of invitation, as well as other steps that may be required. Jacobson said that many American Jews may have lost contact with their relatives in the Soviet Union, and that in such cases United Hias Service, through its worldwide location service, can assist families in locating their relatives. He urged relatives in the Metropolitan New York area to communicate at once with United Hias Service, 200 Park Avenue South, New York, N.Y. 10003 (Tel.: 674-6800). Out-of-town residents should contact their local family agencies, which cooperate with HIAS.
HIAS, meanwhile, expressed strong disagreement with Zev Yaroslavsky, chairman of the California Students for Soviet Jewry, and S1 Frumkin, chairman of the Southern California Council for Soviet Jews, for criticizing Mitchell’s action. The Jewish Telegraphic Agency reported on Oct. 7 that Frumkin and Yaroslavsky termed Mitchell’s offer to use his parole power “an exercise in futile rhetoric” because it constituted “a promise which neither has the backing nor the permanency of an act of Congress.”
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.
