EMERGENCY
MEASURES FOR INCREASED ALYAH FROM ARGENTINA
Jewish
Agency Cancels Vacations of Emissaries and Employees in Argentina
Jerusalem-----December
23......(The Jewish Agency)
Meridor Calls on Government of Israel to Include Special Assistance
In Budget For Argentinean Immigrants;
Chesler Assures Jewish Communities In Latin America: Jewish Agency
will Expand its Assistance to Aliya and
Education
Following violent demonstrations in Argentina sparked by the intensifying
economic crisis, and the state of emergency and curfew imposed by
the government, the Jewish Agency is taking emergency measures for
increasing Aliya of Argentinean Jews to Israel.
The Jewish Agency
cancelled the year-end vacations of its emissaries in Argentina
and offices will remain open till midnight. Assisted by some 50
local employed, eighteen Jewish Agency emissaries in Argentina work
in the area of immigration and Jewish-Zionist education.Head of
Jewish Agency delegation to Latin America, Kito Hasson reports that
since yesterday the number of Jews, who came to the Jewish Agency
asking to immigrate, doubled.
In light of the violence that erupted in Buenos Aires and Cordoba
as a result of the intensifying economic crisis, a thirty-day Sate
of Emergency and curfew were declared last night. In the course
of the violent protests and demonstrations in front of Congress,
five were killed and more than 100 were injured. The demonstrators
set the Ministry of Finance on fire and all the Ministers, beside
the Prime Minister, resigned. Stores at the center of the city were
closed for fear of theft and looting. The government warned that
it will exercise force against the demonstrators and the Senate
stopped deliberations in order to deal with the state of emergency.
Some 200 thousand
Jews reside in Argentina, most of them from the middle-class. Since
the economic crisis, some 1,700 Jewish families lost their homes,
some live in rooms in cheap hotels situated in poor neighborhoods
of Buenos Aires, while others live under bridges, in public squares
and parks. The number of welfare recipients in the community increased
from 4 thousand to 20 thousand and heads of the community estimate
that the number of needy is much larger but many are too ashamed
to ask for assistance from the community and turn to soup kitchens
and churches. As a result of the crisis, there is serious increase
in the instance of domestic
violence, divorce and single parent families. Since the collapse
of the banks in October 1989, some 4,500 children dropped out of
Jewish education programs.
Jewish Agency
Chairman, Sallai Meridor announced special measures to precipitate
Aliya from Argentinan and called on the Government of Israel to
include special assistance to Jewish immigrants from Argentina in
its 2002 budget. Argentina is one of the three target countries,
along with France and South Africa, which had been the object of
a special Jewish Agency-Government of Israel program for promoting
and facilitating immigration and absorption. Since the State of
Emergency was declared, Meridor has been conducting telephone consultations
regarding Jews in Argentina, and will be calling an emergency meeting
at his office on Sunday, in the presence of all the relevant governmental,
security and Jewish Agency resource people.Jewish Agency Treasurer,
Chaim Chesler who recently attended an International conference
in Argentina that addressed the problems of poverty in Jewish communities
in South America announced that the Jewish Agency considers itself
committed to assist regarding all aspects of aliya and education.
Current estimates
place a quarter of Argentinean Jews beneath the poverty line.Chesler
noted that in the in the past two years the Jewish Agency expanded
its education assistance to the Jewish community. This activity
includes setting up a new Jewish education center and offering more
Jewish study programs on Sundays for children whose parents are
no longer able to send them to Jewish schools.In 2001 the number
of Olim from Argentina grew by 30%, representing some 1,500 new
immigrants.
All in all,
in 2001, some 6,000 Jews from Argentina turned to the Jewish Agency
and many of them are now preparing for immigration.
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