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Clinton Okays
More Refugees

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Washington (JTA)

T

he number of refugees allowed to
enter the United States has
increased for the first time in a decade.
President Bill Clinton last week autho-
rized the legal entry of up to 90,000
refugees during fiscal year 2000, up from
78,000 this year. The allocation includes
slots for 20,000 from the former Soviet
Union, down from 23,000 this year.
About 6,000 Jews are expected to
arrive during the next fiscal year.
While the overall increase is pri-
marily due to refugees from the war in
Kosovo, those fleeing Africa and
Afghanistan will receive more slots.
"We are pleased that the adminis-
tration has reversed the decline in
total admissions," said Leonard
Glickman, the executive vice president
of the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society.
"It has been a long time in coming,"
said Glickman, whose group oversees
Jewish communal refugee programs.
Since the 1999 fiscal year began last
October, more than 6,100 Jews have
come to the United States, mostly
from the former Soviet Union, accord-
ing to Glickman.
While HIAS hailed Clinton's deci-
sion, the United Jewish Communities
criticized the move as "too little."
"We are extremely disappointed that
the refugee numbers are as low as they
are, even as we applaud the administra-
tion's response on Kosovo," said Diana
Aviv, vice president for public policy
for the UJC, the umbrella fund-raising
and social service organization of the
North American Jewish community.
Aviv cited a 40 percent drop in
refugees allowed into the United States
during the last six years.
"The problem with this administra-
tion is that the rhetoric and action has
not matched," she said.
Now that Clinton has set the
refugee ceiling, the Jewish communi-
ty's focus has shifted to Capitol Hill,
where Congress is expected to provide
funding for refugee programs.
At the same time, HIAS and UJC
are working for an extension of the
Lautenberg Amendment, under which
the historic persecution of Jews in the
former Soviet Union is taken into
account in the application process for
refugee status, which is due to expire
at the end of September.
Unlike other immigrants, refugees
who are deemed to be fleeing a well-
founded fear of persecution are eligi-
ble for a host of welfare benefits. E

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N

Heed the Sound
of the Shofar.
A Wake-Up Call
from God

•

•

For more information, call Nancy Kaplan at
248.737.1931, or e-mail eilulearn@aol.com
or visit our website at http://www.cbahm.org/eilu.htm

ELUL - A TIME TO PREPARE

Did you know that every weekday
and Sunday morning between now
and Rosh Hashanah, we blow the
shofar at morning minyan? According
to our sages, this is our wake-up call
from God. It rouses us from our
psychological slumber and reminds
us that now is the time to examine
our lives, and prepare our hearts
for the Days of Awe. In this spirit,
Eilu v' Eilu, the adult Jewish learning
project of the Detroit Conservative
movement, presents "ELUL - A TIME
TO PREPARE," a study series on
themes of the season, featuring
some of our community's most
dynamic Jewish educators.

8/20

1999

Detroit Jewish News 95