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Correspondence

June-August 1975

Exchange with Correspondent 32 about NYANA Treatment of Soviet Jewish Immigrants (1975)

Soviet Jewry

1. R. Lamm to Correspondent 32

1. R. Lamm to Correspondent 32 (June 25, 1975)

1. R. Lamm to Correspondent 32 (June 25, 1975)

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Correspondence

Exchange with Michael Platzer about NYANA Treatment of Soviet Jewish Immigrants (1974)

Dear Rabbi Lamm: For the past nine months I have been trying to aid the Soviet Jewish immigrants in the Embassy hotel on 70 Street on the West Side. Unfortunately the west side Jewish community is not the first contact the Soviet Jews have with the Jewish community. The "ambassadors," so to speak, of our community is N.Y.A.NA., of which I’m sure you've heard. From my very many hours of conversation with all of the Soviet Jews in the Embassy hotel I can verify than N.Y.A.N.A.'s treatment of our Soviet brethren is far from commendable.The immigrant on arrival finds himself in a flophouse-type of welfare hotel with all its inherent evils: prostitution, drug addiction and alcoholic related crimes. His room is infested with cockroaches and usually is poorly cleaned and dreadfully aerated. We in the Lincoln Square Synagogue community tried desparately to obtain cooling devices to ward of the stifling, intolerable heat of the summer months.Within a few days of their arrival the Soviet Jew in interviewed at N.Y.A.N.A. and is assigned two social workers. One takes care of his living needs. (Sees that he gets money for room and board) The other supposedly helps the immigrant obtain employment. A school where they may learn English is then assigned.The assignment to these schools has been a point of great difficulty. From what I have gathered from my extensive contact at the Embassy, N.Y.A.N.A. indiscriminately assigns the Soviet refugee to schools of greatly varying quality and to perplexingly different lengths of time. Few have been sent to the American Language Institute, a school of good quality. Most have been sent to the Cambridge School ' or the Latin American Institute which have received poor marks by my Soviet aquaintances.I know personally of a intelligent construction engineer who pleaded with N.Y.A.N.A. to switch him to the American Language Institute to enable him to get a proper hold of the English language. Only after much worry and heartbreak did N.Y.A.N.A. r…
Soviet Jewry

Correspondence

Letter about NYANA and the Integration of Soviet Jewry (1974)

Dear Mr. Farber: Thank you very much for sending me the minutes of our January 24th meeting. Mr. Pruzan has also given me a detailed report of Mr. Goldman’s and his meeting with you and Mr. Schwarzschild on January 26th in our office. I regret that other commitments did not permit me to participate in that meeting. I do hope that our various discussions will lead to our finding effective ways of helping the newly arrived Jewish immigrants from Russia.Let me comment on some of the questions which arose at our meetings:**The question of supplying the volunteers with lists of newly arrived immigrants:**I reviewed this question further. I can only inform you that it is essential for NYANA to adhere to its basic policy of not providing such lists to any community group. As I tried to explain at our January 24th meeting, this is based on the confidential nature of our relationship with our clients and on well-tested and tried experience over many years in many different types of situations. We do not believe, however, that our policy needs to hinder the services the volunteers wish to provide.**The question of conducting English sessions:**We will be glad to inform the newly arrived immigrants of any sessions—place, time, etc.—your group may plan to hold. We will be pleased to supply a room at one of the hotels if you wish to conduct them there. I am sure that you will be pleased to learn that since August 21, 1973, we have placed about 230 Russian clients in various schools where they receive intensive English instruction.**The question of assisting NYANA with finding jobs for the Russian immigrants:**This type of service is extremely important, first and foremost for the immigrants, and then to help NYANA with its entire program. We are doing everything possible to interview the newly arrived immigrants as quickly as possible to determine their employment background, educational objectives, and to try to place them in jobs. As we explained at our meeting, not all immig…
Soviet Jewry

Correspondence

Letter about NYANA (1974)

Dear [redacted], I read with interest your letter to Mr. E. I. Farber. I do not believe anything at all will be gained by your talking to Mr. Schwartzchild personally, if what you have in mind is mollifying him because NYANA did not choose to employ him. Quite frankly, it was my idea and initiative to begin with, and Mr. Schwartzchild was most reluctant even to allow me to proceed, let alone to agree in advance to such employment. Understandably, he could not conceivably enter into such a relationship at the present time.I wish to reiterate what I said to you during our lengthy telephone conversation. NYANA has failed and is failing to make sufficient use of volunteers. I recognize full well the problems inherent in professional-volunteer relationships, and yet I cannot believe either on moral or professional grounds that volunteers should be discouraged or that professional workers are beyond criticism.I trust that you take these words, as well as the telephone conversation I previously alluded to, in the spirit in which I intend it. The Russian emigration represents the first major influx of Jewish immigrants to this country in a long time, and it is in their interest alone that I have encouraged volunteers and begun these discussions with you.Cordially,RABBI NORMAN LAMM
Soviet Jewry