A Jewish scholar was shot and idiled four months ago in Minsk, the capital of Belorussia, by an anti-Semite, the Jewish Telegraphic Agency learned today from Jewish sources. The professor, identified only as Michelson, was shot last Nov. 19 and died three days later. His assassin, whose name was not available, was arrested and reportedly declared mentally ill. More recently–within the past few days–Minsk Jews were given permission to bake matzoth for Passover, but the bakery was destroyed by fire, it was learned. Meanwhile, a Soviet Jew who had applied for emigration to Israel and was arrested in Odessa last Dec. 7 for “Zionist activities” is still being interrogated and is continuing to refuse to talk until her questioners cease what she calls their “brutality,” according to Jewish sources. The woman, Reiza Palatnek, 35, is demanding that they abide by the Soviet law prohibiting brutal interrogation. She was sent to a mental home, but the doctors said she did not belong there.
JTA has documented Jewish history in real-time for over a century. Keep our journalism strong by joining us in supporting independent, award-winning reporting.
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.
