Fifteen members of Congress wrote to President Nixon urging him to protest the use of his trip to Moscow as an excuse for Soviet police to unleash a campaign of terror against Soviet Jews, Rep. Bertram Podell (D.N.Y.) said today. “While our diplomats have been making arrangements for the President’s trip, secret police have embarked on a campaign of repression against the Jews they feel might draw attention to the plight of Soviet Jewry during the visit. We asked the President to make it plain to the Kremlin we do not like that kind of pre-summitry,” Podell said.
In their letter, the Democratic and Republican Congressmen specifically charged Moscow with “…sweeping the streets of any Jews who might draw attention to their plight during your visit–activists have been drafted into the army although they have already served; Jews, including pregnant women, attempting to attend synagogue have been brutally beaten and arrested–all in an attempt to frighten the Jews into silence.”
The letter then added, “We urge you to protest the use of your trip to launch this campaign. We urge you to use all diplomatic channels to express your extreme displeasure at this brutal repression.” The campaign of repression began shortly after the Moscow summit meeting was announced and has built in intensity since, the Congressmen stated.
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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.
