A Soviet Jewry rally staged outside the U.S. Capitol last Thursday to mark the 16th anniversary of the Helsinki Final Act went almost unnoticed.
Through much of the 1980s, when Soviet Jewish emigration was measured in hundreds rather than hundreds of thousands, such rallies attracted major media attention and participation from celebrities and politicians.
But not a single member of Congress showed up for last Thursday’s rally, which was sponsored by the Union of Councils for Soviet Jews. And it drew a crowd of only 25 participants.
That may in fact have been the most fitting tribute to the Helsinki document, which bound the countries that signed it to allow their citizens to emigrate freely.
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.
