(Jewish Telegraphic Agency)
The Jewish youth in Soviet Russia is coming more and more under the influence of Jewish religious teaching, is the complaint of the “Oktiabr”, the Yiddish Communist daily here.
The paper reports that rabbis, teachers and preachers are conducting open activities, even in the large towns like Minsk and their work is no longer confined to the small villages. The “Maggidim” (preachers) openly preach in the synagogues, declaring that “it is better to have no children than to have children who become Communist pioneers; it is better to lead children to the slaughter than to the Communist schools.” The paper also states that the children are being lured to the Talmud Torahs and the old fashioned Chedarim where investigation is made as to whether they wear “Zizith”. The result of the agitation is that fewer Jewish children are attending the Soviet schools. In one town, for example, the paper states, where there are 100 Jewish children of school age, only 23 remain in the school; in another where there are 50 children, only 12 remain.
The paper urges the authorities to take measures against this agitation as the activity is assuming a political character.
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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.
