At an unprecedented meeting with George Perper, executive vice-president of Hurok Concerts, Inc., Jacqueline Levine, president of the Metropolitan New Jersey Conference on Soviet Jewry and Meyer Fine, the Conference program coordinator, presented the Hurok official with a letter of appeal on behalf of the 17 Soviet Jewish artists who have been consistently refused exit visas.
Others participating at the meeting, held at the Garden State Arts Center in Holmdel, at the opening night of the Moiseyev dance troupe’s appearance in New Jersey, were Howard Levine, vice-president of the New Jersey American Civil Liberties Union, and Diana Fine, a member of the local conference.
The letter, addressed to Igor Moiseyev, director of the dance company, urged him to intercede on behalf of his fellow artists–musicians, poets, movie cameramen, painters and sculptors–who have consistently applied for and been denied permission to emigrate to Israel.
AWARE OF PROBLEMS AFFECTING JEWS
The Hurok official was informed that the 17 artists had been harassed, dismissed from their posts and barred from employment in their chosen professions. They called attention to the plight of Boris Penson, noted Riga painter, who is currently serving a 10-year sentence in a Soviet labor camp because of his expressed desire to leave Russia.
Perper responded to the letter by indicating he and the Moiseyev dancers were well aware of the problem affecting not only Jewish artists but thousands of other Jews who are also eagerly awaiting exit visas. He deplored a recent incident in which physical violence to disrupt a performance of the dance group in another city occurred.
Terming this incident “barbaric,” and counter-productive, Perper expressed appreciation for the responsible manner in which the Conference had called the Soviet Jewish issue to his attention. He assured the Conference delegation that the letter would be conveyed to Moiseyev whom he identified as a “compassionate human being.” He expressed confidence that Moiseyev would do whatever he could to help alleviate the plight of the named artists.
JTA has documented Jewish history in real-time for over a century. Keep our journalism strong by joining us in supporting independent, award-winning reporting.
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.
