34 Soviet Jews Facing Trial Spur World Action

NEW YORK (JTA)—Another So-
viet Jew who applied for permis-
sion to emigrate to Israel has been
arrested, according to reports is-
sued by the American Jewish Con-
ference on Soviet Jewry and the
Student Struggle for Soviet Jewry
This brings the total number of
Jews arrested in the Soviet Union
to 34.
The AJCSJ told the Jewish Tele-
graphic Agency that it had learned
from a traveler who had returned
from the Soviet Union that 23-year-
old Semeon Abramovich Levit of
Kishinev had been arrested.
The same traveler reported the
home of Alexander Chenin, also of
Kishinev, had been searched and
a number of publications in Hebrew
and Yiddish were confiscated.
These are the latest in the series
of arrests, searches and seizures
by which the Soviet government

Announcements

*.

Nov. 2S—To Mr. and Mrs. Phil-
lip M. Zelickman (Bonnie LaPides),
10201 Albany, Oak Park, a son
Aaron Israel.
• • •
Nov. 23—To Mr. and Mrs. Neil
H. Wasserman (Trudy Kozlow) of
Northville, a son, Jonathan David.
• . •
Nov. 21—To Mr. and Mrs. Stuart
J. Felhandler (Marcia Felsot),
14740 Borgman, Oak Park, a son,
Craig Alan.
• • .
Nov. 21—To Mr. and Mrs. How-
ard Niskar (Gail Sake), 23825
Rockingham, Southfield. a son,
Joseph Adam.
• . •
Nov. 18—To Mr. and Mrs. Irwin
Gershow (Eeta Freeman), 17566
Oak, a daughter, Miriam Ellen.
• • •
Nov. 15—To Mr. and Mrs. Mitch-
ell Simmer (Carolyn Goode or
Flint), 22511 Ivanhoe, Southfield, a
son, Mark Adam.
• * •
Nov. 14—To Dr. and Mrs. Sul
Blumenfeld (Sandra Per'stein),
25438 Lincoln Terr., Oak Park, a
daughter, Penina Francine.
•
Nov. 5—To Mr. and Mrs. Ken-
neth Gold (Betsy Brody of De-
troit) of Port Washington, New
York, a son, Darren Matthew.
• • •
Oct. 28—To Mr. and Mrs. Mar-
shall Lett (Moreen Antman), 14000
Cloverdale, Oak Park, a son, Adam
Michael.

To Dr. and Mrs. Lawrence H.
Wilk (Helen Goldman), former De-
troiters of Corpus Christi, Tex., a
daughter, Carol Marlene.

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has harassed Jews over the past Jews and upholding their right to
several months. emigrate to Israel. They tried but
In view of the pending trial, failed to deliver a letter to the
101 high school and college embassy listing examples of dis-
students, members of the SSSJ, crimination and indignities suffer-
embarked upon a door-to-door ed by Jews in the USSR.
campaign in Brooklyn to alert 67 Congressmen Send Letter
residents on the most recent Urging U.S. to Confirm
developments of the plight of Rigerman's Citizenship
WASHINGTON (JTA)—A bipar-
Soviet Jewry and to "arouse their
understanding and compassion tisan group of 67 members of the
for a very concrete crisis," ac- House of Representatives sent a
cording to Glen Richter, national letter to Secretary of State William
P. Rogers urging the State De-
coordinator of SSSJ.
Richter also announced plans for partment to confirm immediately
the
U. S. citizenship of Leonid
a massive rally on behalf of Soviet
Jewry to be held on Human Rights Rigerman, a 30-year-old Soviet
Day, Thursday, at the Hunter Jew..
Rigerman was seized by police
College Assembly Hall in New
on the U. S. Embassy steps in
York.
Moscow
after he filed an applica-
The U. S. State Department said
that it has "strong concern" for tion for American citizenship. He
was
charged
with resisting an
the situation of Soviet Jews seek-
ing to emigrate to Israel, but that officer and spent seven days in
jail.
it fears open intercession would be
He was reportedly freed, but
considered "merely cold-war pro-
paganda" and thus be counter- sources here believe he is in immi-
nent
danger of long-term punish-
productive.
Martin J. Hillenbrand, assistant ment for his attempts to establish
American
citizenship in order to
secretary for European affairs,
said in a letter to Seymour Grau- leave the country. '
Rigerman
has based his citizen-
bard, national chairman of the
Anti-Defamation League of Bnai ship application on the fact that
Brith, that-the United States would his mother is American-born and
continue to make "numerous pub- his father is a naturalized U. S.
lic representations emphasizing the citizen. He was born in Russia.
Seven scientists from the Vavi-
right of emigration and our recog-
nition of the plight of those denied lov Optics Institute in Leningrad
signed a statement carried in
it.'
had sought President Izvestia assailing Israel and de-
Nixon's aid in effecting such emi- nying_ that a Jewish problem
gration for six Soviet Jews who exists in the Soviet Union, ac-
had signed a petition detailing cording to reports reaching here
their problems in seeking to go to from Moscow.
The statement in the government
Israel.
Hillenbrand wrote that the newspaper was similar to those
issued
last spring during the Soviet
U. S. has been trying to convince
the USSR that "unfeeling disre- anti-Zionist campaign in which
thousands
of persons, including
gard for the basic human rights
of persons seeking to emigrate many Jews, denounced Israel. Ac-
stirs needless antipathy in public cording to reports here, some of
op'nion abroad and hence be- the signers of this latest statement
comes a political liability ill-be- are believed to be Jewish.
In printing the statement by the
fitting a major government."
scientists, Izvestia explained that
But he cautioned that the U. S.
numerous
Soviet citizens expressed
must "choose very carefully the
forum on which to support the indignation at receiving a bulletin
right to emigrate," so as not to in their mail published by stu-
"prejudice" the chances of Soviet dents in Tel Aviv University, en-
titled "Israelis Reply."
Jewish emigration.
The bulletin, published by the
In a related development, Albert
Schlossberg, national commander Israeli Students of Middle East
Affairs
at the university, is geared
of the Jewish War Veterans, met
with President Nixon and late' toward expressing views on cur-
told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency rent Mid East developments by
that "Mr. Nixon shared our con- way of answering Arab views.
cern (about Soviet Jewry) and he Jewish Leaders Denounce
always has." He said the President Bomb!ng of Soviet Office as
concurred in his "great alarm" at Inimical to Soviet Jews
NEW YORK (JTA)—The bomb-
the situation.
Several thousand persons con- ing of the Soviet Aeroflot and In-
verged on the nation's capital Nov. tourist building here has been
24 for a mass meeting on behalf denounced by Jewish leaders here
of Soviet Jewry. National leaders and in Washington, D. C.
The American Jewish Confer-
of the three major faiths and lead-
ing figures on the political, labor, ence on Soviet Jewry called the
civic and civil rights scenes parti- act one. of "barbarous terrorism,"
cipated. The event, sponsored by emphasizing that "it is especially
the American Jewish Conference repugnant that it should be pre-
on Soviet Jewry and the Jewish sented to the public as a form of
Community Council of Greater Jewish reprisal for the Soviet gov-
Washington, was held in the Wash- ernment's outrageous oppression of
Jewish life in the Soviet Union and
ington National Cathedral.
French police arrested but the denial of basic human rights to
later released about two dozen Soviet Jews."
Such actions by "small groups
Jewish youths in Paris after
some 200 shouting demonstra- of misguided zealots" are not the
tors stormed the Palais d'Hiver way "tp obtain basic rights for
in an attempt to prevent a per- our fellow Jews in the Soviet
formance by the Red Army Union," the Conference statement
Chorus. The youngsters, carry- continued. "Anyone who applauds
ing signs denouncing anti-Jewish the bombings or its perpetrators
discrimination in the Soviet Un- violates all principles of respon-
ion delayed the, performance for sible behavior in a civilized so-
about a half hour before they ciety."
At a news conference, Rabbi
were ejected by police.
More than 1,000 members of Meir Kahane, chairman of the
Montreal's Jewish community gath- Jewish Defense League, said he
ered at a mass meeting to protest had "no idea" who had planted
the position of Soviet Jewry and the bomb, but said he "applaud-
ed" them.
the imminent trial.
Shortly after the bomb blast,
A peaceful demonstration by
about 60 Jewish and Israeli high about 3:30 a.m., an anonymous
caller
told the Associated Press:
school students in front of the So-
viet Embassy in Bonn was broken "Let the world know that while
Jews
are
on trial in Russia, the
up by West German police after
the Russian political attache, A. J. Soviet Union will be on trial.
Bogomlov, asked them to "liqui- 'Never again!' "
That final phrase is the slogan
date this swinish action of anti-
of the JDL, which has been ac-
Soviet provocation."
cused
of similar incidents in the
The youngsters carried placards
protesting the treatment of Soviet past.
Neither the American Jewish
THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS Conference on Soviet Jewry nor

any of the Jewish leaders who
made statements in Washington
accused the JDL directly of re-
sponsibility for the explosion at the
Soviet air line and tourist offices.
Officials attending in Washington
the 72nd biennial convention of the
Union of Orthodox Jewish Congre-
gations of America condemned the
bombings. Rabbi Joseph Karasick,
the union's president, said it was
"an undisciplined and unjustified
action of a small group that does
not represent any Jewish consensus
nor any major responsible Jewish
organizations." He predicted the
bombing would "reflect negatively
upon the situation of our brethren
in Soviet Russia."
Rabbi Moshe Feinstein, regard-
ed as one of the greatest living
authorities on Jewish religious
law, declared that "the actions
of the Jewish Defense League
directed against government and
states are contrary to the Torah
which prohibits us from such
deeds of violence."
Declaring that police protection
was "woefully inadequate" and
warning that these conditions
would get worse, Rabbi Emanuel
Rackman, provost of Yeshiva Uni
versity, stated that "It is abso-
lutely necessary for citizens to
assist police by engaging in police
work themselves. He suggested
that there should be "squads of
volunteers" to help prevent "mug-
gings, unlawful entries and hold-
ups," and asserted that "in many
instances" the JDL had demon-
strated "its ability to be the in-
strument presently required by
the Jewish community."
He added, however, that the
JDL "has gone so far afield" from
its announced purposes "that it has
spent its energies on areas in
which its tactics were often de-
structive rather than helpfuL" in
fact, he stated, "they were irre-
sponsible." He declared "If the
Jewish Defense League would only
have limited its activities to de-
fense, it might have helped save
the cities in the United States."
Israeli Premier Golda Meir as-
sailed the violence in New York.
She said she was certain no re-
sponsible Jewish organization had
been behind the violence and tint
it would be unjust to associate
those responsible for the bombing
with the masses of Jews and nom
Jews campaigning on behalf of
Soviet Jews.
Meanwhile, trial has been set
for Feb. 16 for seven of eight
Jewish students, members of the
Washington Committee for the
Release of Captive Soviet Jewry,
who staged a demonstration at

the local offices of Tau. the So-

viet news agency.

One of the eight arraigned, a
juvenile, was released.
Members of the Washington Com-
mittee denied press reports that
they were members of the Jewish
Defense League and told the Jew-
ish Telegraphic Agency that com-
mittee members were "in no way
affiliated" with the JDL.
The Soviet Embassy protested
orally to the State Department over
the demonstration.
State Department spokesman em-
phasized that the Tass offices are
not diplomatic premises and that
there were no indications of prop-
erty damage. The students had en-
tered the offices—after knocking
on the door, a spokesman for them
said—and had chained themselves
together to protest Soviet denials
of emigration permission to Jews.
After being ejected and booked by
the police they were released on
their own recognizance.

Black Jews in NY
Number 10,000
4,000 in Chicago

NEW YORK (JTA)—There are
an estimated 10,000 black Jews in
New York, constituting the largest
black Jewish community in the
United States, according to James
H. Benjamin, a black Jew who has
been appointed executive director
of Hatzaad Harishon, a multi-
racial Jewish organization.
The organization, of which Mor-
decai Joseph is president, was
set up in 1964 to promote better
understanding between black and
white, Jews.
Benjamin also told the JTA that
there are nine black Jewish con-
gregations in New York City. He
said there are 4,000 black Jews
in Chicago, the second largest
black community in this country.
He said the black Jewish com-
munity in the United States dated

back to shortly after the Civil
Waif, when a black congregation
was established in Virginia. Prior
to that time, Benjamin said,
black Jews were found in nearly
every state but mostly in the
slave states.
He added that most of the Amer-

ican black Jews were descendants
of slaves brought from western
Africa. Benjamin also said that
black Jewish communities exist in
Israel, Ethiopia, Nigeria, the West
Indies and elsewhere. He said that
"In this day and age, it is impera-
tive that both black and white
Jews recognize that they need each
other."

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