The Church Council of Greater Seattle, a body representing all the Christian denominations in the area, recently sent a copy of the Jewish holy scriptures to Anatoly Shcharansky, the Soviet Jewish dissident.
“By sending him the scriptures, the local Christian community is attempting to make Soviet officials aware that American Christians, as well as American Jews, are concerned about the lack of religious freedom in the Soviet Union,” said David Stahl, Pacific Northwest regional director of the Anti-Defamation League of B’nai B’rith.
“The Soviet authorities may not let him receive the scriptures,” Stahl added, “but they will recognize the concern of American Christians for the plight of Soviet Jews. Hopefully this move will be followed by similar actions on the part of Christian communities throughout America.”
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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.