Maj. Grische Feigin, the former Red Army hero who returned his medals and agitated successfully for permission to migrate to Israel, was awarded today the Badge of the Palmach, named after the Jewish fighting force of World War II and the War of Independence. The presentation was made by Deputy Premier Yigal Allon, himself a former Palmach commander. Allon said the badge was meant as a replacement for the medals Feigin had returned to the Kremlin in protest against the treatment of Soviet Jews. Allon added that he had been informed that Jewish youngsters in Leningrad were publishing an “underground” newspaper, using as its motto the promise made by Allon on his visit there: “If I forget thee. Soviet Jewry, let my right hand forget its cunning.” The Deputy Premier also said he had received a Hebrew poem, titled “The Song of the Redemption Fighters,” from a resident of Moscow.
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.
