The Soviet laws in the fields of economics and religion, though they are not intended to bring about discrimination against the Jewish population in the Union of Socialist Soviet Republics, affect Russian Jewry worse than any other group of the population.
This is the burden of the report submitted by the Joint Foreign Committee, the body representing the Anglo-Jewish Association and the Board of Jewish Deputies in matters pertaining to the defense of Jewish rights, at the monthly session Sunday of the Board of Jewish Deputies.
The allegation that the civil, political and religious rights of the Jews under the Soviet regime are disadvantageous compared with that of other religions, led the Committee to send a mission to Russia in order to obtain information and relief, the report states. Although the inquiry shows that the law operating in Soviet Russia does not recognize any distinction between races and creeds, nevertheless, it is a fact that these laws operate more oppressively against the Jews than against any other group. This is due to the fact that the Jews belong mostly to an economically disadvantageous class under the Soviet rule. Under the general religious restrictions, the law affords certain possibility for religious education, but the impoverishment of the Jewish communities and the atheistic fanaticism of the Jewish section of the Communist party, the Yevsektzia, render this facility useless to the Jews, the Joint Foreign Committee declares.
The recently appearing anti-Semitism is a serious phenomenon, the report goes on, particularly among the Communist working classes. Although the government is sternly repressing this agitation, its presence is already effective, since it makes it difficult for Jewish artisans to retain employment in national factories. Foreign intervention would be futile and might only aggravate the sufferings of the Jews.
The only possibility for help consists in strengthening and extending the remedial agencies already established. These agencies concentrate at present on Jewish agricultural work, whereas it is necessary also to increase the support of the communal institutions such as hospitals, kitchens, day (Continued on Page 4)
nurseries and children’s homes. However, the despatch of funds for the above purposes may encounter difficulties, the report states.
During the discussion, it was emphasized that Mohammedans and Baptists enjoy more religious rights in Soviet Russia than the Jews. A suggestion was made to ask the Trade Union Congress to intervene.
When a suggestion was made at the session that an appeal be issued to the Jewish community in England on behalf of Russian Jewry, the chairman emphasized that before an appeal could be issued, the Committee must be satisfied that the funds will reach the people intact, a matter which presents many practical difficulties. Political intervention is quite impossible and would only be harmful, he added.
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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.
