Marcuse Joins Appeal to Kosygin to Let Soviet Jews Emigrate to Israel

Prof. Herbert Marcuse, a leading philosopher of the New Left in the United States, signed an appeal cabled to Soviet Premier Alexei N. Kosygin yesterday urging the Soviet Union to allow its Jewish citizens to emigrate to Israel if they wish and to allow those who choose to remain in Russia to “perpetuate their Jewish faith and culture.” The appeal was initiated by Prof. Marcuse and Prof. Richard Popkin of the University of San Diego. It was signed by seven other San Diego professors, by Judge Roger Rossin and Prof. Jacob Branovsky, a British scientist working at the Salk Institute.

Its text, made available here today, said: “We the undersigned have witnessed with anguish and dismay the struggle of the Jews in the Soviet Union for national survival. We believe this struggle is not directed against the Soviet Union but is a struggle for their Jewish identity and their human rights.” The cable continued, “We have followed the recent trials of Jews in the Soviet Union and are deeply troubled by reports that the Soviet Union intends to proceed with its trials of Soviet Jews. In the name of the highest moral principles and legitimate human rights, in the name of which we have protested actions of our own governments, we appeal to the Soviet Government to recognize the present treatment of Jews is morally intolerable and politically deleterious. Let those Jews who so desire leave for Israel or the land of their choice and let those who remain attain fulfillment of their rights to perpetuate their Jewish faith and culture.”