According to advices received by the Hebrew Sheltering and Immigrant Aid Society from Riga, the Soviet government has issued an order to the effect that food packages which are sent to relatives or friends from abroad may not contain more than three kilo sugar, two kilo coffee, cocoa or soap. A kilo is approximately two and a quarter pounds. The regulations further provide that no one person may receive the above-mentioned quantities more than once a month.
In connection with this order the officials of Hias state that only one of the sixty-four standard food packages which may be sent through Hias to relatives and friends in Soviet Russia are affected. This is package No. 215, which contains eight pounds of sugar. All other packages are available.
Food packages may only be transmitted to Soviet Russia by those agencies which have received permission from the Russian government. Hias food packages are sent from Riga, the nearest port to Russia, under the personal supervision of Aaron Benjamin, vice-president of Hias and the Society’s European Commissioner.
Orders on the Torgsin stores may also be sent through Hias. Lists of the sixty-four packages and their prices and orders on Torgsins may be obtained by application to Hias.
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.
