War Cuts Immigration of Soviet Jews to Israel
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JERUSALEM — The Gulf War cut the number of Soviet immigrants to Israel last month by 60%, Israeli immigration officials said Monday.
They said Soviet arrivals dropped to 13,360 in January from 35,259 in December because would-be migrants feared fallout from the Persian Gulf conflict.
Iraqi President Saddam Hussein carried out his vow to attack Israel if war erupted by unleashing Scud missiles at the Jewish state.
The quasi-governmental Jewish Agency brought 185,000 Soviet Jews to Israel last year in the biggest wave of immigration to the Jewish state since the 1950s.
Officials expect at least 300,000 more in 1991, but the war could cut the forecast.
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