Mayor John V. Lindsay has urged the Voice of America “to introduce Yiddish language broadcasts as a daily feature of Voice of America programs directed to the Soviet Union.” In a letter to Frank Shakespeare, director of the United States Information Agency which operates the VOA, Lindsay praised the VOA for “providing the free flow of information for the people of the Soviet Union.” He pointed out that “Jews in the Soviet Union have been denied the right to emigrate and to reunite with their brethren in Israel and other countries. Many have been persecuted for doing nothing more than expressing a desire to live as free human beings. These oppressed people need to know that they are not being abandoned or cut off from contact with outside Jewish life.” In urging the adoption of Yiddish language broadcasts, Lindsay pointed out that a large number of Soviet Jews consider Yiddish to be their native language. The Mayor also stated that such broadcasts would be consistent with this nation’s concern for oppressed people throughout the world.
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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.
