(Jewish Telegraphic Agency)
Anatole Lunacharsky, Soviet Commissar of Education, regarding whose attitude toward the Hebrew language several contradictory reports were published in the Soviet press, made clear his stand in a statement he issued in reply to an inquiry of the correspondent of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency here.
“Under no circumstances would we introduce dead Hebrew as a language of instruction, regardless of the desires of the population,” Lunacharsky declared. ” Morcover, I doubt extremely whether it is possible to find anywhere a Jewish population, except small groups, who would demand this. Hebrew, like Latin, should be permitted, I believe, if the population somewhere demanded that in a certain school Hebrew be introduced among other subjects on the curriculum.”
JTA has documented Jewish history in real-time for over a century. Keep our journalism strong by joining us in supporting independent, award-winning reporting.
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.
