The correspondent of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency has found it impossible to verify the truth of the report emanating from Riga, that the Jewish communists of Bachmut have publicly burned 70 Torah Scrolls. Leaders of Moscow Jewry, however, do not believe the report and doubt very much whether Bachmut has 70 Torah Scrolls.
After communicating with Vitebsk, the correspondent of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency is able to declare that another Riga report, to the effect that Rabbi Medalia, known throughout the region, has fled because he was accused of contra-revolutionary activities, is unqualifiedly false. The fact of the matter is that Rabbi Medalia was unable to meet the extremely high taxes that had been levied upon him, and rather than face arrest for non-payment of taxes, he fled. fined $1,000 and expelled from his residence.
Together with this dispatch comes news that the Jewish communists of Bachmut have publicly burned 70 Torah Scrolls.
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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.