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Holland Jewry Halts Aid to Refugees

October 5, 1994
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The Jewish Social Welfare Foundation here has announced it will no longer give legal assistance to refugees from the former Soviet Union seeking political asylum in Holland.

Explaining its decision, the foundation said it believes that many of those arriving from the former Soviet Union have attained forged documents to back up claims of their Jewish origin.

About 1,000 people with false documents arrived in Holland during the past year-and-a-half, the foundation said.

The organization also noted that others claiming to have arrived directly from the former Soviet Union in fact arrived from Israel.

Holland offers political asylum only to people who were persecuted in their own country, but not to those who arrive via Israel.

The foundation noted that the total number of people seeking political asylum in Holland during the first eight months of 1994 stood at 35,000, the same as the total number of applications received in all of 1993.

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