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Jewish Youths Gain Entry to Soviet Embassy; Mass Rally Continues in Orderly Fashion

October 13, 1970
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Three Jewish student demonstrators gained entry to the Soviet Embassy by a ruse today and had to be removed by police after they began a noisy protest against the alleged mistreatment of Jews in the Soviet Union. The three were identified as a university coed freshman and two high school boys from New York City. Their names were not given. They are believed to have been part of more than 3000 Jewish students from major cities across the country who assembled here yesterday for a two-day mobilization on behalf of Soviet Jewry. The demonstration was organized by the North American Jewish Youth Council. It went off peacefully as the placard carrying youngsters chanting "Let my people go" paraded a block away from the Soviet Ambassador’s residence. A city regulation prohibits demonstrations within 500 feet of foreign legations. The three youths removed from the Embassy today got in by telling a receptionist that they wanted information on tourism in Russia.

The Jewish Telegraphic Agency learned that once inside they began to sing and chant and the young woman blew a shofar. She handcuffed herself to a desk and had to be cut free. Dr. Isaac Franck, executive vice president of the Jewish Community Council said yesterday’s demonstration was "very successful" and "very effective." He praised the discipline of the youngsters. Police said they created some disturbance but nobody was held. Two neo-Nazis who appeared on the scene with signs reading "No More Jewish Wars" were largely ignored by the crowd and drifted away without incident. Jewish families in the area opened their homes to the demonstrators who were scheduled to attend workshops at Temple B’nai Israel today and to visit the State Department to hear U.S. information Agency and State Department experts on the Soviet Union and the Mideast.

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