The American Jewish Congress Soviet Jewry “hot line”–a recorded telephone message that gives callers up-to-date information on the situation of Soviet Jews and word of local efforts in their behalf–is getting more than 5,000 calls a week in four of the nation’s major cities. Mrs. Saul Beckman of Philadelphia, co-chairman of the organization’s national Committee on Soviet Jewry, told a meeting of the Congress’ Governing Council that special “hot line” numbers in New York, Chicago, Philadelphia and Miami were tallying well over 1,000 calls per week, The figure rose sharply during the trial of the Leningrad 11 and has remained at a high level since then, Mrs. Beckman said.
The “hot line” service was inaugurated in New York last October as a service of the AJCongress Commission on International Affairs. The message is changed frequently, sometimes two or three times a day, to keep pace with swiftly-changing developments. The texts of the messages vary from city to city to cover local events. Additional “hot lines” will shortly be installed in Cleveland and San Francisco.
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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.
