A total of 3,092 Jews left the Soviet Union during the first six months of 1987, of whom 703 went to Israel, the Intergovernmental Committee for Immigration reported here.
In June, the number of departures was 790, of whom 121 proceeded to Israel after reaching Vienna. In May, 871 left, with 227 going to Israel. In April, 717 Jews left the USSR and 168 of them went to Israel.
In Zurich, speakers at a seminar organized by the Swiss Association for Jews in the USSR said they are convinced that outside pressure will open the doors for Soviet Jews wishing to emigrate, as it did in the 1970’s.
According to Claude Frey, the Swiss National Counselor and president of the Parliamentary Association for Soviet Jews, Soviet wishes for dialogue with the West should be used to press Mikhail Gorbachev on the Jewish issue.
Baruch Eyal, an expert on the subject, cited the Soviet Union’s urgent need of Western technology. This can be used to persuade Gorbachev to make concessions on the human rights issue, and especially Jewish emigration, he said.
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.
