The Religious Affairs Minister of the Soviet Belorussian Republic entered the Minsk synagogue several weeks ago and warned the congregants to keep younger Jews out or face possible “unpleasant consequences,” according to information from Jewish sources reaching here today.
Younger Jews “have no place in the synagogue, and you must make them leave,” the minister reportedly said, offering the assistance of the police should it be necessary. If this plan is not carried out, the minister reportedly emphasized, “maybe we will decide that the synagogue is not needed at all.” He said the authorities wanted to build a housing project on the site.
In another reported development, physicist Herman Barnover of Riga has been threatened with a trial if he continues conducting a Hebrew class in the synagogue. Barnover, an observant Jew, quit his physicist’s job a year ago when he was unable to practice a religious life. His wife, who is a doctor, was fired when the family applied to emigrate to Israel. The authorities have cited to Barnover Art. 137 of the Latvian Criminal Code, providing for “separation of church and state.” and threatened he would be charged with violating Latvian criminal code if he did not stop teaching Hebrew.
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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.
