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Made By Syria

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New York (JTA) — Respon-
ding to American complaints
that it is no longer permit-
ting Syrian Jews to travel
freely, Damascus has
asserted that the 1,400 Jews
remaining there no longer
seek to leave the country.
The Syrian claim was
quickly refuted by Jewish
organizations here, who last
month went public with
their charges that Syria had
reneged on its promise to
allow Jews to travel freely.
That free travel policy,
announced in the spring of
1992, reversed a decades-old
policy in which the roughly
3,500 Jews of Syria were
barred from leaving the
country in family groups.
But between last October
and January 1993, not a sin-
gle one of the 1,400 Jews
remaining in Syria was
granted travel visas. And in
recent months, only a hand-
ful of Jews have been given
exit papers each week.
Last month, 73 senators
signed a letter urging Presi-
dent Clinton to "press Syria
to honor its commitment to
allow Jews the right to
travel freely."
It was in apparent re-
sponse to this that the offi-
cial Syrian newspaper
Tishreen blamed the travel
slowdown on the problems
faced by Syrian Jews who
have arrived in the United
States, Canada and
Venezuela.
The article in Tishreen, as
translated and reported by
the Reuters news agency,
claimed that "there has been
no alteration in travel pro-
cedures."
"The Jewish migrants
were badly frustrated be-
cause they did not find work
in the United States. Some
who had practiced medicine
in Damascus for dozens of
years found their credentials
were not accepted and were
not allowed to practice," the
Tishreen article continued.
But Jewish groups say
that the Syrians are raising
a false issue in discussing
the experiences of Jews who
have left the country.
"It's a straw man," said
Gilbert Kahn, executive di-
rector of the Council for the
Rescue of Syrian Jews.
Alice Sardell Harary, the
president of that group, ex-
pressed confidence that "all
the Jews in Syria would
avail themselves of the op-
portunity to be reunited

with their brothers and
sisters in the United
States," if Syria resumed is-
suing travel permits.
"The fact remains that
Jews seeking to travel
abroad are not permitted to
do so as family groups, in
violation of the pledge by
President (Hafez) Assad to
American administration.
That is the only reason why
Jews are not leaving," said
Seymour Reich.
Mr. Reich heads the Na-
tional Task Force on Syrian
Jewry, which is convened by
the Conference of Presidents
of Major American Jewish
Organizations with the Na-
tional Jewish Community
Relations Advisory Council.
"We call on Syria to lift
the rule that bars family
groups from leaving and
thus end the separation of
husbands and wives, parents
and children, brothers and
sisters, whom the govern-
ment policy has cruelly kept
apart," Mr. Reich said in a
statement.
Rep. Charles Schumer,
D-N.Y., chairman of the
Congressional Caucus for
Syrian Jewry, said, "This
blatant lie is just one more
attempt by Assad to deceive
the world into thinking that
Syria has changed its ways."
Mr. Schumer, whose
district includes the
Brooklyn neighborhoods
where many Syrian Jews
have settled, added that
"Assad's cynical attempt to
play a carrot and stick game
with Jewish lives is not go-
ing to convince the U.S. of
his good intentions."

Ben-Porat
Reappointed

Jerusalem (JTA) — The
Knesset, with support from
both the ruling Labor Party
and opposition groups, has
voted to appoint Justice
Miriam Ben-Porat for an-
other five-year term as state
comptroller.
Ms. Ben-Porat, 75, who has
earned the public's respect
for her uncompromising
critique of government af-
fairs under both the Likud
and Labor parties, was the
only candidate.
All parties, except for the
Orthodox Sephardic Shas,
had recommended Ms. Ben-
Porat's appointment. The
Knesset vote was 78-18.

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