Jewish Central Emigration Society JEAS (pol., Jewish Central Emigration Society JEAS) – an institution established in Poland in 1924 and operating until 1939, which aimed to provide material and organisational assistance to Jewish emigrants.

JEAS was part of the international emigration organisation HICEM. The central office was located in Warsaw whereas local branches were located in Białystok, Brest, Cracow, Lublin, Łódź, Lviv, Rivne, and Vilnius. JEAS provided assistance to over 300,000 Jews emigrating from Poland. It handled passport formalities for 60,000 Jews and helped to obtain over 20,000 visas and to purchase 20,000 ship boarding cards; over PLN 100,000 was spent on benefits to emigrants. The institution also helped emigrants to contact their relatives in the USA. On a much smaller scale, JEAS organised language courses and occupational courses for emigrants. Funds for the institution’s activities came from the HICEM budget and membership fees. 

Natalia Aleksiun

Za: Tomaszewski J., Żbikowski A., Żydzi w Polsce. Dzieje i kultura. Leksykon, Warszawa 2001.