A Soviet Jewish general sent an “open letter” to former Premier David Ben-Gurion, protesting Ben-Gurion’s statements on the plight of Soviet Jewry.
The letter, published here today was written in perfect Hebrew and dated March 30 in Moscow. It was sent to the daily newspaper Maariv by ordinary mail. The writer, describing himself as Lieutenant General Hirsh Plaskvow, 68, severely criticized “Knesset Member Ben-Gurion” for his alleged statements on Soviet Jewry during his visit to New York last month. The letter asserted that the former Premier had compared Soviet policy toward Jews with that of the Nazis.
The Soviet letter-writer, who signed his name in a flowing Hebrew handwriting, declared that Soviet authorities succeeded in withdrawing hundreds of thousands of Jews from World War II combat zones threatened by the advancing German troops in the invasion of Russia. About himself, he said that he was born in Minsk and had studied at a yeshiva because his father wanted him to be a rabbi but that he had chosen to become a soldier. He added that “my son also is an officer in the Soviet army.” He said Mr. Ben-Gurion’s statements in New York were a “gross slander.”
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.
