The American Jewish Committee charged here today that conditions of the Jews in the Soviet Union “appear to have become worse” as “Jews continue to be made the scapegoat” for the USSR’s economic difficulties.
In a special resolution, the Committee stressed that it “did not seek to encourage international hostility toward the Soviet Union.” However, the Committee urged that “the Soviet Union uphold its own constitution and laws, and treat its Jewish population on the basis of equality with all other groups.”
The Committee resolution called upon Soviet authorities to: 1. Permit Jewish religious practices and the acquisition of religious materials without discrimination; 2. Make possible the free development of Jewish cultural institutions; 3. Allow Jewish education to develop freely, and 4. Vigorously combat anti-Semitism in all its forms.
The “scapegoat” problem, the Committee said, was underscored by a recent editorial demand in Izvestia, the official organ of the Soviet Government, calling for a “show trait” which the Committee said” would place responsibility for general economic inefficiency and corruption on Soviet Jews” and “aggravate anti-Jewish bias among the masses of the Soviet peoples.”
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.
