In a dramatic “call to conscience,” 100 shofars were sounded in unison today, heralding the Jewish New Year and highlighting the plight of scores of Soviet Jewish “prisoners of conscience.”
The “Shofar for Freedom” ceremony, which launched a series of events to mark the High Holy Days, was sponsored by the Greater New York Conference on Soviet Jewry and focused on the need for renewed efforts in the year ahead to gain freedom for vast numbers of Soviet Jews. Bronx Borough President Robert Abrams, Conference chairman, presided at the ceremony, held at the Isaiah Wall opposite the United Nations.
Manhattan Borough President Percy Sutton, one of the participants in the ceremony, issued a proclamation naming the day as “Greater New York Conference on Soviet Jewry Day.” Rabbi Haskel Lookstein, a Conference vice-chairman, led in the blowing of the shofars. Mrs. Lynn Singer, another Conference vice-chairman, read a “roll call of honor,” the names of Soviet Jewish prisoners in Soviet labor camps, and Cantor Joseph Malovany sang the words to “Sound the Great Shofar of Freedom.”
The ceremony took on special meaning in that it also marked the birthday of Dr. Mikhail Stern, a prominent Soviet Jewish physician who is serving an eight-year term in a Soviet labor camp.
Abrams declared that “as we prepare to celebrate the New Year, 5737, we urge New Yorkers of all faiths to rededicate themselves to the cause of Soviet Jewry and to all those living in the grim shadow of oppression.”
Help ensure Jewish news remains accessible to all. Your donation to the Jewish Telegraphic Agency powers the trusted journalism that has connected Jewish communities worldwide for more than 100 years. With your help, JTA can continue to deliver vital news and insights. Donate today.
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.
