Charlotte Jacobson, Chairman of the Soviet Jewry Research Bureau of the National Conference on Soviet Jewry, reported today that only 368 Soviet Jews arrived in Vienna in October, the lowest monthly emigration figure recorded.
The continuing downward trend indicates, according to Jacobson, that “the doors to Jewish emigration have virtually closed. Visa restrictions difficult to combat have locked Soviet Jews into the USSR. We must direct our energies toward transforming this radical change in Soviet practices and to help create a flow, once again,” she said.
The 368 figure represented a drop from the previous low of 405 Jews who left the Soviet Union in September. Of the October arrivals in Vienna, 89 continued on to Israel and 279 opted to settle in Western countries.
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.
