Boris Kochubievsky, who in 1967 was among the first Soviet Jews to demonstrate for freedom, was thrown to the ground, punched in the face and pummeled yesterday by Blacks who resented his photographing their Temple Islam, formerly a synagogue. The incident occurred on Intervale Street in Roxbury, a formerly Jewish neighborhood. Kochubievsky, who was treated by a private doctor and then led an Israeli Independence Day parade, apparently misunderstood the Blacks’ warning not to photograph their temple, as he does not speak English. According to one of his interpreters, Peter Zimmerman, an American, Kochubievsky was “knocked to the ground and kicked repeatedly.”
Justin Wyner, president of the Jewish Community Council of Metropolitan Boston, termed the incident an “outrage” and called for a complete investigation of the incident. He deplored the assault against “a distinguished visitor to Boston who himself endured so much suffering in the Soviet Union as one of the early heroes in the effort of Soviet Jews to obtain their rights or to leave for Israel.” Allen Mallenbaum of the Jewish Survival Legion, which was showing Kochubievsky around the city, said “it was a communication problem.” The Soviet activist plans to return to Israel later this week.
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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.
