About 1,000 Jewish immigrants from Rumania arrived in Israel last year, Rafael Kotlowitz, head of the Jewish Agency’s Immigration and Absorption Department, reported at the weekly session of the World Zionist Organization Executive yesterday.
Kotlowitz, who recently visited Rumania, said that although the Rumanian government objects to emigration in principle, it makes an exception regarding Jewish emigration, “partly for historic reasons.” In the past Rumania was known for its stiff policy regarding Jewish exit.
Kotlowitz visited 20 Jewish communities in Rumania. Most of Rumanian Jewry lives in Bucharest. The community lacks Hebrew teachers, and suffers from widespread assimilation, he said. Kotlowitz praised Chief Rabbi Moses Rosen for his communal activities.