A call not to close synagogues unless the majority of the Jewish population really agrees to the closing was issued today by Sh. Diamenstein, who is now the presiding director of the Jewish department of the National Minorities Council at the Central Executive Committee, which has taken over the work from the liquidated Jewish section of the Communist Party (Yevsektzia).
Diamenstein’s statements disclosed that many Yevsek instructors in the provinces, having nothing to do now with Jewish work, are joining general Soviet institutions, thus creating complete chaos in the Jewish Communist work and breaking up the well-organized Jewish Communist machinery.
Diamenstein believes that this breaking away may harm Jewish Communists’ interest. He points out that while not every former Yevsek can be assigned to the new work the rush to participate in general work should be stopped because the mistakes committed hitherto can serve as good experience for future work when continued by the same people.
Among the mistakes that have been committed, Diamenstein points out, are the use of administrative force in antireligious activities which led to the undesired result of strengthening religion and gave the religious leaders abroad an opportunity to protest that the Jewish religion is being persecuted in Russia.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
