Chief Rabbi Yitzhak Nissim denounced today the death sentences imposed by a Soviet court on a rabbi and two other defendants for alleged currency speculation, calling the sentences a “symptom” of the Soviet attitude toward its Jews.
He called on all “enlightened nations” and “heads of religions” to join in his call for support of the principle of the sanctity of human life in opposition to the sentences on Rabbi G. Gavrilov and two other alleged “ringleaders of a gang” convicted of engaging in speculation in silver and gold tooth fillings.
The Chief Rabbi called the sentences “another in the series of false accusations levelled at Jews” who have been executed recently for “economic crimes.” He added that if the charges against the defendants contained “one iota of substance,” the judgment still conflicted with “fundamental humanitarianism” in taking a life for such an offense.
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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.
