The Soviet government may soon permit an organized Jewish immigration from Poland to Russia, it was officially learned here today when a Jewish delegation from Poland arrived here to negotiate with the Soviet to open its doors to Polish Jews.
The delegation, headed by Dr. Michael Suritz, president of the Agro-Yid organization in Poland, was received today by M. Kalinin, president of the U. S. S. R., and handed to him a memorandum describing the economic plight of Polish Jews. The delegation asked President Kalinin to permit the settling of the first 300 Jewish emigrants from Poland in Biro-Bidjan, autonomous Jewish region in the Far East.
In submitting its memorandum, the delegation made it clear that the Agro-Yid, an organization interested in helping Jews migrate to Biro-Bidjan, will contribute $150 for each Jewish family which the Soviet government permits to enter Russia and settle in Biro-Bidjan.
This contribution will be made on condition that the Soviet government guarantees to supply the families with houses and food in Biro-Bidjan and with at least one cow per family. The first 300 families will be permitted to settle in the Jewish region not later than the spring of 1935.
The Jewish Telegraphic Agency was informed today from most reliable sources that the above conditions will most likely be accepted.
The memorandum to President Kalinin deals chiefly with the present desperate economic condition of the Jews in Poland. It has been known here that of the 3,000,000 Jews residing in the Polish republic at least 1,000,000 are suffering acute starvation due to the anti-Jewish economic policy of the government. Reports received here during the past few weeks disclose that the number of Jewish suicides in Poland is growing daily because of hunger and privation.
It is believed here that the Polish government, though not willing to see its citizens go to Russia, will nevertheless not make difficulties for those Jews who migrate to Biro-Bidjan, since Polish authorities are interested in seeing as many Jews as possible leave.
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.
