| T.R | Title | User | Personal
Name | Date | Lines |
|---|
| 398.1 | I regret the HIAS organization | TAVMTS::JUAN | | Mon Dec 07 1987 10:01 | 21 |
| "... HIAS (sp?). This organization helps people who wish to emmigrate
from 'behind the iron curtain' ..."
HIAS is an organization that diverts Jews that left the USSR from
travelling to Israel and helps them to settle in the US.
I believe that if someone stated that he is leaving the USSR for
Israel and as soon as he crosses the border turns to the U.S., by
the same act is hurting the possibilities of his fellow Jews to
exit the USSR. The HIAS organization may give a point solution,
but, I believe, it definitely works against the complete solution
which is helping Jews as a whole leave Russia.
As such I regret any contacts with HIAS.
Yours,
Juan-Carlos Kiel
Herzliya, Israel
|
| 398.2 | you've touched a nerve I'm sure | FSLENG::CHERSON | and what's your raison d'etre?! | Mon Dec 07 1987 12:53 | 28 |
| Juan,
I think before you receive any other replies you should be warned
that you may have hit a nerve with some American Jews.
American Jewish leaders (that's a misnomer!) are lobbying against
the Israeli plan to route immigrants through Romania instead of
Vienna. They say that this would interfere with the freedom of
choice of Soviet Jews. However is it a freedom to abuse the efforts
that the Jewish Agency and Israel has made on their behalf?
Freedom of choice is a totally incorrect argument for Israel is
a free country. One may leave it at will, I have and many others
unfortunately have also.
It's a tough issue to talk about here because obviously you and
I are not living under the conditions that our chevrei are in the
U.S.S.R. But what it looks like to me is that you have a small
percentage of Soviet Jews who are willing to put up with years of
imprisonment, deprivation, and even torture for the right of aliyah,
while on the other hand there are people who openly abuse the visa
to Israel to immigrate to the West.
To be fair Soviet Jewry has been exposed to many falsehoods and
misinformation regarding Israel. So their impression is a conditioned
one.
David
|
| 398.3 | Info only please... | TAVENG::CHAIM | Le'Chaim | Tue Dec 08 1987 05:28 | 5 |
| He guys, no one asked for opinions or controversy here. There are
other notes and conferences for this. All I asked for is a little
bit of info.
Cb.
|
| 398.4 | Opinions? Who's offering opinions? | CSCMA::SEIDMAN | Aaron Seidman | Tue Dec 08 1987 11:00 | 16 |
| >>re: .3 He[y] guys, no one asked for opinions or controversy here.
Since when do we have to be asked? :^)
re .1, .2
The first objective is to get them out. I have no problem
with encouraging Soviet Jews to settle in Israel, but that
is a secondary problem. If someone can show me that routing
them through Romania will get more out, then I'd advocate
using Romanian transit facilities. Frankly, I don't think
it makes any difference. From what I know of Soviet politics,
I think it depends more on internal Soviet policies rather
than external destinations.
Aaron
|
| 398.5 | | FORCE::PISAREVSKAYA | | Tue Dec 08 1987 11:58 | 4 |
|
HIAS Headquarters in New York -
200 Park Ave. South New York, NY 10003
|