Israel Seeks Loan to Help Soviet Jews Resettle

Israel hopes to borrow $1 billion, using the credit lines of Jewish groups in the United States and Canada, to help absorb thousands of Soviet immigrants, the quasi-governmental Jewish Agency announced Monday.

Mendel Kaplan, chairman of the board, told a news conference his agency would ask North American chapters of the Council of Jewish Federations to guarantee the loan.

The money will be loaned out to Soviet immigrants at favorable interest rates, he said.

Kaplan said the idea was “to make the maximum amount of funds available” to resettle up to 1 million Soviets over the coming years. About $2.5 billion also is being sought in Operation Exodus fund-raising appeals, he said.

Kaplan described it as “an ingenious method of funding,” but the proposal drew protests in Israel because it will require immigrants to accept loans to cover part of the resettlement cost, rather than getting it all as a grant.

Michael Kleiner, chairman of the Parliament’s absorption committee, said the move could reduce the number of Soviet Jews willing to come to Israel.

“It reminds me of the story of the Jew who wanted to force his mule to eat less and less food,” Kleiner said. “One day the mule died and the Jew said: ‘What a pity. I had almost succeeded in getting him to eat nothing at all.’ ”