Dr. William A. Wexler, president of B’nai B’rith, has appealed to the Soviet government’s leadership for release of Jews who have been convicted or are awaiting trial on charges of planning to emigrate illegally. Dr. Wexler addressed individual communications to Leonid Brezhnev, Communist Party secretary, 15 other high ranking officials and to six candidate members of the Communist Party’s newly elected Politburo. He urged “favorable consideration” of the release of the Jews as a humanitarian act and a “contribution of good will between our peoples.” Most of those being detained were arrested last June after Soviet authorities foiled an alleged attempt to hijack a Soviet airliner.
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.
