Illya Ripps, a Jewish mathematics student who set fire to himself on a Riga street on April 13, 1969, arrived in Israel last night with his parents. The tall, thin young man, who speaks some Hebrew, said he wanted to complete his studies here and to “be of value to this country.” But he told reporters that his self-immolation had not been intended to dramatize his desire to go to Israel but to protest the Soviet-led invasion of Czechoslovakia in Aug. 1968. Two more plane loads of immigrants from Russia arrived last night.
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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.
