JEWS NOT UNFRIENDLY TO SOVIET UNION
“Even more ridiculous is the statement that those Soviet citizens who wish to be repatriated are deliberately unfriendly toward the Soviet system. Some authorities try to prove this by holding trials–for example in Leningrad and in Riga–bringing charges of anti-Soviet activities against Jews whose only aim was to protest against the unlawful refusals to issue them visas for repatriation.” Chalidze said that in his efforts to study human rights in the Soviet Union he found it his duty “to give intellectual assistance to Jews who desire repatriation.” He said he was familiar with their problems and principles, the main one of which was “non-interference in affairs here. They have one aim–to go to Israel.”
“I am convinced,” Chalidze wrote, “that the charge of anti-Soviet activity against those seeking repatriation is ridiculous.” The Soviet physicist noted “welcome signs of progress in recent months” which have given those Jews wishing to leave “hopes of obtaining permission to do so.” He added; “I hope that the Presidium, using its constitutional right of pardon, will take the change in the situation into account and recognize the legitimacy of the Jews’ desire for repatriation and dismiss the criminal cases. I call for an end to all persecution of Jews seeking repatriation and I urge that there be no more violations of the obvious right of man to leave any country.”
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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.
