Simcha Dinitz now believes that up to a quarter million Soviet Jews will immigrate to Israel in the next three to four years.
Dinitz, who is chairman of the World Zionist Organization and Jewish Agency Executives, revised his estimate upward from 100,000, after visiting Moscow last week to attend the founding conference of the Congress of Jewish Organizations and Communities in the USSR.
After addressing the conference, he said he found a favorable atmosphere for aliyah. He told reporters here there would be 3,000 Soviet Jews arriving in December and 4,000 are expected in January.
He said Israel has sent out about 360,000 invitations, which Soviet Jews need to apply for exit permits from the Soviet authorities. They attest to family reunification being the reason for emigration.
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