• Distinctive gifts and accessories are what you'll find at Sherwood. Our unique and unusual selection includes crystal, sculptures, hand-crafted items, vases, music boxes, perfume bottles and trays, picture frames and albums, menorahs, dolls, bears, wallets, earrings, lucite and stainless serving dishes... just to mention a few. Complimentary gift wrapping 30% Off All gifts and accessories West Bloomfield 6644 Orchard Lake at Maple Road Mon-Thur-Fri 10-9 ■ Tue-Wed-Sat 10-6 Sun 12-5 ■ 855-1600 If You Are Planning a Bar or Bat Mitzvah You Won't Want to Miss This Book! Meet Author Rabbi Jeffrey Salkin The Book Fair Jewish Community Center Maple-Drake Roads Sunday, November 22 10:15 A.M. •• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • Reserve Ci) Lil Cr) LU your copy! Pick it up at the Book Fair Name Address Phone 41 of Books ($ 1 4.95 ea.) Mail to JEFF. 21550 W. Twelve Mile Rd. Southfield. MI 1 -18076 (313)35+1050 Cosponsored by Jewish Educators Council and J.E.FF. CC F- LU 54 Advertising in The Jewish News Gets Results Place Your Ad Today. Call 354-6060 Emigration Is On The Rise Moscow (JTA) — The emigration of Jews from the former Soviet Union has in- creased in the last two mon- ths due to political instabili- ty here and fading hopes for the eventual stabilization of the economy, according to an Israeli Embassy official here who is responsible for emigration matters. Around 6,000 Israeli im- migrant visas were issued in September and October, said Alexander Libin, the em- bassy official, up from an average of a little more than 4,000 a month during the summer months. The number of visas issued is an indicator of immigra- tion trends, because prospec- tive immigrants usually ar- rive in Israel three or four months after getting the visa. Mr. Libin attributed the increase to regional political instability in the non-Slavic areas of the former union, such as Tajikistan, Georgia and the Ossetia region of the northern Caucasus in Russia. In Tajikistan, for example, several hundred Jews have left in recent weeks by direct flights to Israel to escape clan warfare there. At the same time, said Mr. Libin, "people in Russia itself are less hopeful about the future" in light of con- tinued inflation and econ- omic uncertainty. Added uncertainty sur- rounds the fate of economic reform, which may be slowed or stopped altogether by con- servative forces in the Rus- sian parliament, whose Congress of People's Deputies is set to meet next month in Moscow. "Other factors are also at work," said Mr. Libin. "The process of privatizing apartments has been pro- ceeding in a number of Rus- sian cities, and that can play a role in people's decisions to emigrate," he said. Once privatized, apart- ments can be sold to raise money to stake immigrants in Israel. In the larger cities in the European part of the former union, such as Moscow, St. Petersburg and Kiev, apartments are commonly sold for U.S. dollars. A two- rn or three-room apartment in central Moscow can fetch between $35,000 and $50,000, while apartments in peripheral locations may be sold for $15,000 to $20,000. Sellers bound for Israel frequently request that the purchase price be paid to trusted relatives or friends already in Israel, so that Russian restrictions on the export of currency are avoid- ed. "We've also opened a number of new consulates around the union, so it's easier to get an Israeli visa," said Mr. Libin, citing an- other factor in .the emigra- tion surge. Prospective immigrants in places like Tashkent, the capital of Uzbekistan, and Kiev, the Ukrainian capital, no longer need to travel to Moscow to apply for a visa because there are now Israeli consulates in those cities. Travel inside the former union has become extremely expensive by local standards and uncertain because of shortages of airplane fuel and parts. A round-trip ticket from Tashkent to Moscow, for example, costs 6,000 rubles ($15), roughly the average monthly wage in the ex-USSR. Despite the increase, im- migration levels are still far below those of 1990 and the first half of 1991. The main influence on immigration, Libin said, is still concern over finding jobs and hous- ing in Israel. NY Federation Celebrates New York (JTA) — The world's largest local charity is celebrating the 75th an- niversary of its continuous service to the Jewish com- munity. With donations totaling $235.5 million for fiscal year 1991, UJA-Federation of New York ranked eighth in this year's list of the top 400 philanthropies in the nation, put out by the Chronicle of Philanthropy. It outranked such national charities as YMCA of the USA and Boy Scouts of America. The United Jewish Appeal, a separate and na- tional organization, headed the list. A total of some $4.7 billion, adjusted for infla- tion, has been distributed.