‘Great Damage Has Been Done’ Kochubievsky Assails Rabbi for Saying Majority of Soviet Jews Wish to R

Boris Kochubievsky, a Jewish militant who served a three-year sentence in a Soviet labor camp for alleged anti-Soviet activities, sharply criticized Rabbi Irving Lehrman, president of the Synagogue Council of America, for remarking last week that a majority of Russian Jews wish to remain in the USSR.

Speaking at an impromptu sidewalk press conference today across the street from the Soviet Embassy, Kochubievsky said that "great damage has been done by Rabbi Lehrman’s statement" and claimed that "it could mean that a couple of thousand Jews may not get visas because Soviet authorities have an excuse to say that most Jews don’t want to go."

Rabbi Lehrman of Miami Beach, made his remarks in a statement on behalf of the Synagogue Council calling on synagogues across the nation to recite prayers for the success of President Nixon’s forthcoming visit to the Soviet Union. Rabbi Lehrman said he hoped the President would assert America’s interest in the fundamental human rights of those Jews who wish to leave the Soviet Union to do so.

"At the same time," he continued, "it is clear that the majority of Soviet Jews wish to remain in the Soviet Union as loyal citizens of that country. However, they demand the basic right to develop those religious institutions which will assure their religious survival."

Speaking in Russian through an interpreter, Kochubievsky said there was no way of knowing how many Jews really want to leave the Soviet Union but estimated there may be "tens of thousands." He said very many were terrified to say what they think. Kochubievsky went to Israel four months ago after completing his sentence. He attributed his release from the USSR to the support of Jewish and general public opinion all over the world.