At least 5000 of the 300,000 strong Jewish community of Leningrad are ready to emigrate to Israel, if they can get visas, it was learned here today. The information came from members of the Cinovya Izraeli–“The Songs of Israel Underground Organization.” They reported, according to the sources, that no fresh arrests have been made lately and there has been little harassment. “but some of us are afraid it will come.” One of the informants expressed the belief that Soviet authorities may have realized that a policy of persecution is “self-defeating.”
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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.