Friday, December 1, 1919 13
THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS
Soviets May "Open the Gates"
to Jewish Emigration in the 80s
By BORIS SMOLAR
(Editor-in-chief emeritus, JTA)
(Copyright 1979, JTA, Inc.)
In the friendly "tug-of-
war" now being conducted
between the Jewish Agency
and the American Jewish
communities over the aid
given by American Jewry to
"drop-outs," a very impor-
tant possibility is being
overlooked:
The possibility is that the
Kremlin may for reasons
beneficial to Soviet inter-
ests, embark on a policy of
opening the gates of the
USSR wider for Jewish
emigration; even wider
than the 50,000 Jews an-
ticipated to leave during
1980.
Such a possibility, fantas-
tic as this may sound now, is
by far not excluded. In fact,
various developments point
to it.
There are factors today
that indicate that the
Soviet policy with regard
to Jewish emigration will
proceed in the direction
of "getting rid" of as
many Jews as possible,
since this may bring
benefits for the Soviet
government within the
country as well as
abroad.
Another fact to consider is
that by increasing Jewish
emigration the Soviet gov-
ernment stands to get from
the U.S. huge credits and
special trade privileges
under Most Favored Nation
treatment.
Internally, a larger
Jewish emigration from the
country would create tens of
thousands of vacant apart-
ments — a factor considered
important by the govern-
ment and welcomed by the
Russian population in view
of the severe housing shor-
tage. Added to the other
gains are also millions of
rubles in cash which the
Soviet treasury will save by
no longer paying pensions
to Jewish war veterans and
to Jewish aged who left the
country.
The American Jewish
community and Israel, must
bear in mind the possibility
of a Soviet policy of in-
creased emigration. A move
on the part of the Kremlin to
open the gates wider would
naturally be welcomed but
the Jewish world must be
prepared for the possibility
of such a move, otherwise it
would suddenly find itself
caught in heavy financial
difficulties in absorbing the
newcomers.
According to the
United Israel Appeal-
Jewish Agency, the cost
of resettling one Russian
Jew in Israel is $35,000. In
the United States,
NYANA reports it is now
spending about $6,000 in
making a Soviet immig-
rant family of four self-
supporting within an av-
erage of three months.
The drain on the Jewish
philanthropic dollar is
considerably less in the
United States than in Is-
rael because in Israel the
immigrants are provided
with houses on a perma-
nent basis instead of
apartments rented for a
year or less as is the case
in the American Jewish
communities.
It must be noted that only
one-half of the resettlement
costs in Israel is covered by
funds coming from the
United Jewish Appeal and
from other Jewish com-
munities outside of Israel.
The other half is covered by
the Israel government.
Even if 15,000 of the
50,000 Soviet Jews expected
to come out of Russia within
1980 would proceed to Is-
rael, the cost of their reset-
tlement would reach $525
million, while the resettle-
ment of the other 35,000,
the "drop-outs," in the
United States and in other
countries would cost many
millions of dollars less.
In 1968, the Soviet gov-
ernment faced many uncer-
tainties when deciding to
permit the emigration of
even a small number of
Jews with the destination to
Israel. These uncertainties
exist no longer.
One of the major prob-
lems faced at that time by
the Kremlin was that the
starting of Jewish emig-
ration, even on a very
small scale would open a
Pandora's box in the
sense that Ukrainians,
Lithuanians and mem-
bers of other national
minorities would follow
in demands for emigra-
tion. This problem is no
longer actual.
It has been "sblved" by
the Kremlin in implanting
in the minds of the people of
Russia that Jews are being
permitted to leave the coun-
try not as a privilege but be-
cause they are "undesira-
bles," an element inimical
to the country, "Zionists."
This poisonous anti-Jewish
propaganda had its effect.
Seeking emigration became
in the eyes of the many in
Russia tantamount to being
an "unreliable citizen." And
who in the Soviet Union
dares to carry the stigma of
being "unreliable?"
Another obstacle that
stood in the way at the time
for a larger Jewish emigra-
tion was the Soviet fear of
Arab protests. Arab gov-
ernments protested to Mos-
cow that emigration of
Soviet Jews to Israel
strengthens Israel's man-
power. This obstacle has
been eliminated with the
increasing number of
"drop-outs."
All these developments
point to the possibility of
permitting larger emigra-
tion of Jews as part of a pol-
icy of getting rid of them as
"undesirables." Thinking
and projecting in this direc-
tion must, therefore, not be
neglected by the Jewish
communities in the United
States and in Israel. They
must not be caught sud-
denly with emergency situ-
ations involving the need of
unavailable immense
funds.
UN Resolution
Asks Negotiations
for All of M.E.
VIENNA (JTA) — Chan-
cellor Bruno Kreisky said
last week that Austria may
present a resolution to the
UN General Assembly
which reportedly calls for
direct negotiations between
all parties to the Middle
East dispute, including Is-
rael and the Palestine Lib-
eration Organization as the
representative of the Pales-
tinian people.
It urges Israel and the
Palestinian people to enter
into exploratory talks with-
out preconditions but calls
for Israel's recognition of
Palestinian rights and
Palestinian recognition of
Israel's right to exist.
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Camp David Pact
Lauded, Security
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NEW YORK (JTA) —
President Carter's National
Security Adviser told 350
delegates to the Jewish
Labor Committee's biennial
convention last week that
he considered Camp David
"one of the greatest
achievements" of the Carter
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