Jews in Soviet Russia

Report Outline
Worsening Situation of Russian Jews
Evidences of Anti-Semitism in U.S.S.R.
Ups and Downs of Jews Under Soviets

Worsening Situation of Russian Jews

Signs of Resurgence of Russian Anti-Semitism

Reports of worsening conditions of life among Jews in the Soviet Union, coupled with what appears to be a determined campaign of vilification against them in the Soviet press, have aroused fears of a broad resurgence of anti-Semitism reminiscent of the days of the Czars. Despite official denials, there are continuing indications that Russia's three million Jews are living an uneasy existence in a hostile atmosphere; many of them are deprived of rights supposed to be guaranteed under Soviet law.

In a book recounting his experiences in Russia last winter, Harrison E. Salisbury, veteran New York Times correspondent, reported that anti-Semitism was especially evident in the rural areas of the Ukraine, Byelorussia and Moldavia. “Its revival has been stimulated by aggressive official propaganda against the Jewish religion and Zionism, often couched in terms that blurred the boundary between anti-religion and anti-Semitism,” Salisbury wrote.

The American Jewish Committee asserted at its annual meeting last April that the “deteriorating situation of Jews in the Soviet Union” constituted “an obstacle to better understanding between nations.” Several U.S. senators—among them Prescott Bush (R Conn.), Jacob K. Javits (E N.Y.), Kenneth B. Keating (R N.Y.) and Leverett Saltonstall (R Mass.)—have carried the Jewish protest to the floor of the Senate. They count on Moscow's sensitivity to world criticism of Soviet treatment of minorities to effect a modification of harsh policies toward Jews.