Increase of Anti-Semitism in USSR.
Traced to Khrushchev's Prejudices
NEW YORK (JTA) — Blame
for the anti-Semitic atmosphere
now prevailing openly in the So-
viet Union is being laid by most
foreign diplomats directly to So-
viet Premier Nikita Khrushchev,
according to a report on the situ-
ation of the Jews in Russia in
the New York Times by Harrison
Salisbury, former Moscow corre-
spondent of the newspaper who
just returned from the Soviet
Union where he made an exten-
sive study on the resurgence of
anti-Semitism in the country.
Emphasizing that "anti-Semit-
ism is again showing its ugly
face" in Russia, especially in the
rural areas of the Ukraine and in
some parts of Byelorussia and the
Moldavian Republic, Salisbury
says:
"Most diplomats (in Moscow)
believe a prime factor in the
creation of an atmosphere of
permissive anti-Semitism is in-
sensitivity on the Jewish ques-
tion by Premier' Khrushchev.
The Soviet leader has frequently
discussed Jewish questions and
almost invariably has displayed
traces, at least, of anti-Semitic
prejudices common to the bor-
derland of the Ukraine where
he grew up."
Describing the fear prevailing
among Soviet Jews as anti-
Semitic actions increase, the
New York Times correspondent
says that there are no pogroms
today in Russia as in the times
of the Czar, although the old
Czarist slogan "Beat the Jews
and save Russia" may be mut-
tered by home hooligans. "Nor
are Jews being executed or
shipped off to S i.b e r i a as in
Stalin's days," the correspond-
ent reports.
Nevertheless, he emphasizes,
Jewish fear and suspicion in
the Soviet Union are now on
the increase because of the
revival of anti-Semitism which
has been stimulated "by ag-
gressive official propaganda
against the Jewish religion,
often couched in terms that
blur the boundary between
anti-religion and anti-Semit-
ism."
Salisbury reports that neo-
Stalinist Young Communist
League gangs "have been mobi-
lized to intimidate and browbeat
Jewish communities." Jews in
many places in the Soviet Union
are reluctant to have contacts
with foreigners or co-religionists
because of the reprisals that may
be visited upon them by the
Government, he established.
Foreign diplomats, the corre-
spondent asserts, believe that the
motive in the new campaign
against Russian Jews is not anti-
religiousness but gross. national-
ism and fear of foreigners. The
-Soviet regime fears its Jews,
partly- on the basis of the stand-
ard Communist phobia against
any non-Communist social group
and partly on the fact that Jews
have ties with other Jews abroad
and have fre. quently shown "sym-
pathy for and interest in" Israel.
The Soviet regime is consid-
ered by foreign diplomats hyper-
sensitive on the Zionist question
and is believed to suffer from
security qualms because of the
sympathy of many of the
3,000,000 Soviet Jews for Jews
in 'other countries. Such feelings
were sharpened as a result of the
sympathy with Israel displayed
by Jews openly in Leningrad
and other Soviet cities.
In addition to the arrests,
trials and sentences of Jewish
religious leaders in Moscow and
Leningrad, the correspondent
writes, known and respected
Jewish leaders in Riga, Kiev,
Vilna and Tashkent, among oth-
er cities with substantial Jewish
communities, have been forced
to resign to be replaced by men
more pliable to Soviet. wishes.
The drive to smear Russian Jews
by "exposing" them as speculat-
ors and absconders was the same
as the method used by police
and young Communist agents to
attack non-conformist youths and
libral writers, Mr. Salisbury
stresses.
In recent months, the corre-
spondent reports, the embattled
Soviet Jews have attracted strong
and articulate allies in the So-
viet intellectual • community.
Such persons, he wrote, were
actively trying to arouse Rus-
sians generally - to .a _ feeling of
shame and rage at the anti-
Semitic stain on the national
conscience. He cited the young
poet Y e v g e n y Yevtushenko,
whom he described as the idol
of Soviet youth, as an outstand-
ing example. Also the poet Vladi-
mir Nekrasov, who took a stand
similar to .Yevtushenko consid-
erably earlier.
On the plus side, the corre-
spondent reported that dis-
missal of Jews from posts to
exile or execution was no
longer occurring as it did dur-
ing the Stalin era. Moreover,
Jewish students, at least in
Moscow and Leningrad, seem
to have less trouble than be-
fore in getting into higher
educational institutions. The
leading role of Jewish scien-
tists in Russia's spectacular
space achievements has won
"grudging" recognition in high
Government circles.
For all that, the correspondent
concluded, "anti-Semitism is still
a blot on the Soviet scene." He
cited among other facts the
story of Kiev and the nearby
gully, called Babi Yar, where
the Nazis marched 75,000 Jewish
men, women and • children and
slaughtered them. He reported
that Soviet officials avoid any
attention to Babi Yar and that
when the Jewish massacres are
mentioned, the officials are quick
to declare that the Jews were
not the only Russians murdered
by the Nazis.
Z.O.A. Leaders Differ
Whether Anti-Semitism In
Russia Is Governmental
Differences of opinion on
whether anti-Semitism now pre-
vailing in the Soviet Union is
part and parcel of an official
policy of the Soviet Govern-
ment developed among leaders
of the Zionist Organization of
America at the two-day meeting
of the ZOA National Executive
Council last week-end.
While Max Bressler, ZOA
president, said that he does not
subscribe to the contention that
"underlying the anti-Jewish dis-
crimination in Russia is govern-
mental anti-Semitism," Dr. Max
Nussbaum, chairman of the Na-
tional Executive Council assert-
ed at today's session that the
imprisonment of lay leaders and
rabbis in the Soviet Union rep-
resents "an open policy of anti-
Semitism embarked upon by the
Moscow government."
Both Zionist leaders equally
expressed concern over the dis-
The diplomats point to the criminations which are being
fact that the most prominent 'practiced now against Jews in
Jewish victims of recent the Soviet Union and especially
months have been persons who
over the arrests of Jewish com-
have had social and cultural munal and religious leaders.
contacts with Israeli diplomats. However, Bressler expressed the
The correspondent emphasized belief that these discriminations
that none of the Israeli ac- stem most probably from a mis-
tivities in such contacts would conception of what constitutes
have caused any ' reaction in Jewish nationality or Judaism
any other country. In Russia, combined with a political aver-
the contacts spurred' the So- sion to Israel. "To my mind,"
viet security apparatus to furi- he said, "both these sources
ous activity.
can yield to change with patient
and proper handling."
Dr. Emanuel Neumann, mem-
ber of the Jewish Agency ex-
ecutive, addressing the session,
criticized the present multi-
plicity of competing groups in
the American Zionist movement
and called for a closer union
among American Zionist organi-
zations through an "earnest re-
appraisal and realignment" of .
Zionist forces in this country.
He voiced the belief that "this
can be effected without the total
loss of identity" on the part of
the various Zionist groups, or
the suppression of their internal
autonomy.
Moshe Sharett, chairman of
the Jewish Agency, said that
the present position of Jews in
some countries constitutes a
challenge to Zionists and non-
Zionists alike. "It is up to the
non - Zionists to acknowledge
that without the inspiration and
drive supplied by the Zionist
movement there would have
been no independent Israel to-
day," he said. "It is up to the
Zionists to realize-that far from
being able to rest on their
laurels, they are called upon
to close their ranks and re-
double their efforts so as to
make of the Zionist message
the central theme of contempo-
rary Jewish life."
Jewish scientists in the
Soviet Union are constantly
being watched • by Russian
"security organs," lest they
pass on secret information
which ultithately reaches
"American agents" through
Israel diplomats in the USSR,
it was revealed by Vadi
Bogoslovsky, a Soviet off
serving in the United
ns.
In an interview
corre-
spondent of
Jewish Day-
Morning Jo al, Bogoslovsky
"explaine
why Jews in the
Soviet
on constitute a "spe-
cial s
rity problem" f r t
auth
ies. He said:
s have a re to p
sib' y of . bei
fo g gn agents.
ye a
n
ral interest i
nd a not
in fferent to Isr
diplomats
T
Israeli diplo
often
in the synagogu
R la.
'Th
talk to the wo
pers
an . make friends
them.
The alk. They
each other
things.
s that a Jew
has a son w o has .an important
post in a scientific research in-
stitute that is Concerned with
research in seer et develop-
ments. The diplomat learns de-
tails and hands them over to
his American friends. This is
espionage."
"As a result of these circum-
stances," Mr. Bogoslovsky con-
tinued, "Jewish scientists are
under special surveillance by
our security organs because
there were many incidents
which would force us to under-
take actions to prevent any
kind of what, for us, would be
unpleasant situations." The sit-
uation, said the Soviet official,
is "uncomfortable" both for the
Jews in Russia and for the So-
viet regime, "but the circum-
stances and the strained world
situation have created it."
On Monday, Bogoslovsky de-
pied ever giving an interview
to Jacobson or even having ex-
pressed the views attributed to
him in a private discussion. He
said Jacobson's article was "un-
provoked, baseless and a pure
invention."
He admitted meeting Jacob-
son in the UN Delegates' Lobby
and said they had several very
casual conversations, that Jacob-
son tried to draw out of him
opinions about the Jewish situ-
ation in Russia and that his
answers • were that he was un-
familiar with the subject.
Jacobson, when he was told
about Bogoslovsky's denial, in-
sisted that he gave an accurate
account of his talks with the
Russian. He said the interview
was a "private talk" and that
he can understand why Bogo-
slovsky denies it, but he in-
sisted that he quoted him ac-
curately.
Soviet Sentences
Four Vilna Jews to Death
LONDON, (JTA) — Four
Jews were sentenced by a So-
viet court in Vienna to death
before a firing squad, and four
others were given prison sen-
ences ranging from four ye
to 10 years, after bein
victed of alleged
speculation," it was
a cable by Tass,
news agency.
Those given de
were named as
Michael Rabinovic
and Basia Reznitsk
sentences, for alle
city in the crimes,
ported to have been imposed
on M. Melamed, R. Vidri, Zelda
Zismanovich and Michael
Kaminyar:
mier Nikita Khrushchev, when
asked at a press conference
about discrimination against
Jews in the Soviet Union.
The Soviet editor told the
press conference that there are
synagogues functioning in the
Soviet Union and that Jews oc-
cupy "high posts" in the Soviet
armed forces. He said that
there are 10 Jews on the staff
of Izvest . of them is
th-
ant editor
e paper.
sked a 'alit\ the
rests of
ewish communal an eligions
leaders
charges •f being
"Zion' .t
ts," a
the long
ces
ted out to
dj
replied: "I
ord of honor
solutely nothing
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Khrushchev's Son-In-Law
Angered Over Question
On Anti-Semitism In Russia
RIO DE JANEIRO, (JTA)—
"Who gave you the right to
speak in the name of Soviet
Jews?" was the agnry reply
given hereby Alexis Adjubei,
editor of Izvestia, official or-
gan of the Soviet government,
and son-in-law of Soviet Pre- O
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