losif Mendelevich, the freed Soviet Jewish activist who immigrated to Israel three months ago, said today that UN Secretary General Kurt Waldheim “could not find the time to see me.” He said that he requested a meeting with Waldheim more than ten days ago.
Speaking at a press conference here, sponsored by Yehuda Blum, Israel’s Ambassador to the UN, Mendelevich said that instead of a meeting with Waldheim, he met here last week with Under Secretary General William Buffum and discussed with him the plight of Soviet Jews and the “cultural and religious persecution” against them.
Mendelevich expressed disappointment that Waldheim could not see him claiming that he promised his fellow prisoners in Russia to discuss their plight with the Secretary General. Mendelevich also recalled what he termed “the religious persecution” in Soviet jails — where his religious articles and prayer books were confiscated as “Zionist propaganda” — and claimed that this persecution reflected the cultural and religious oppression of Jews all over Russia.
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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.
