The Soviet Union was urged last night to lift restrictions on the minority groups in the Communist countries of East Europe, particularly the 2.5 million Jews who have been “singled out as victims of discriminating measures.” The appeal was made by the executive committee of the American Jewish Committee which charged that while “there have been a few departures from the anti-Semitic policies of the Stalinist era,” they seem “slight, indeed, in the face of the oppression of years.” It proposed that the USSR take the following steps:
Restore to their citizens of the Jewish faith true freedom of worship; Allow them to reopen their schools; Give them the opportunity to have the use of their language, a press and distinctive cultural activities; Release all persons held in jail or in slave labor camps on charges related to their race, religion or national origin; Re-establish full freedom of movement for all peoples of Eastern Europe, and allow immediately the reuniting of broken families, permitting the orphaned and the homeless to be taken to places of shelter and care.
“We, together with our fellow Americans,” the AJC resolution asserted, “are waiting to see whether the practices of the Soviet Government and its satellite regimes will be changed in consonance with the spirit of Geneva.”
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