Citing Red Chinese sources, a Belgian Catholic daily published a lengthy article today reporting that a large number of Jews allegedly are “interned” in Biro-Bidjan, the once much-publicized Jewish autonomous republic in the Soviet Union.
“La Libre Belgique” asserted that the Soviet or East European Jews live in an “immense internment and forced labor camp.” Indignantly describing the “inhuman conditions” imposed by the non-Jewish local authorities on this “Biro-Bidjan hell,” the Catholic daily also assailed the fate of Jews throughout the Soviet Union, seeking to refute the Soviet Government claims that Jews in Russia enjoy equal rights.
“In reality, anti-Semitism flourishes throughout the country on all levels of society,” the daily writes. “In these conditions, it is not surprising that, despite all precautions taken by the authorities, proof of some of the particularly eloquent manifestations of this anti-Semitism from time to time reaches the free world.”
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.
