Boris Kochubievsky and Mrs. Irina Markish, two Soviet Jews who won acclaim for their successful struggle to leave the Soviet Union, arrived in New York yesterday afternoon from Israel. On debarking from the El Al plane, Kochubievsky said “I come here to reawaken the American Jewish community in the fight for Soviet Jewry, because the period of time left in our battle may not be long.”
He said that at any time “we may return to a period of Stalinism and therefore the fact that thousands (of Jews) are coming out now does not mean we have attained victory. It is most urgent to double our efforts so that many more can come to Israel.” Kochubievsky added that he had come to participate in the National Solidarity Day for Soviet Jewry April 30.
Mrs. Markish, daughter-in-law of the famed Jewish author, Peretz Markish, who was executed by the Soviet government in 1952, said she had come here to continue the battle so that her husband, David, and her mother-in-law. Esther Markish, can join her in Israel. Kochubievsky and Mrs. Markish will spend three weeks in the US.
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.
