That Russian Jews are in need of further relief and look to American Jews for this assistance was the statement made by Rabbi Solomon Goldman of the Jewish Center Cleveland, on his return to New York following a three months trip in Europe.
Speaking on conditions in Russia, the Rabbi described the pessimistic impression which he carried away from that country.
“Help us, help us” were the words that greeted me on all sides,” Rabbi Goldman said. “In a restaurant in Leningrad, on the Tverskaya in Moscow, in the synagogue court of Minsk, everywhere in Russia Jews told a tale of misery and poverty and pleaded for more relief. The American Jew is still considered the fore-ordained Joseph.
“If synagogue attendance is any indication of the spiritual status of the Jewish community, then the integrity of Russian Jewry remains unshaken. But somehow one senses little or no future for minorities under the present Soviet regime. The Jewish youth is caught up in the maelstrom of the proletariat philosophy, he has turned his back on the problems of his people. He sees no Jewish people. Inter-marriage is growing by leaps and bounds. The reader of Jewish literature and the student of Jewish history are hardly to be found. The children with but few exceptions receive no Jewish education. The Yiddish language is rapidly losing ground. It is now used largely as a vehicle for Bolshevik propaganda. The Russian Jew has weathered many a storm. Can he save himself now? Only extreme optimists or pessimists will speak with definiteness,” Rabbi Goldman concluded.
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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.
