Itta Nashpitz and Batya Tsitlionok, the mothers of Mark Nashpitz and Boris Tsitlionok, began a three-day hunger strike today in front of the Isaiah Wall opposite the United Nations headquarters to protest against the five-year exile sentence imposed March 31 on their sons by a Moscow district court. The two mothers were joined in their strike by August Stern, the son of Dr. Mikhail Stern. The three are conducting their hunger strike also in a dramatic plea for support of oppressed Jews in the Soviet Union.
Mrs. Nashpitz and Mrs. Tsitlionok, who are now citizens of Israel, told reporters: “Our sons have committed no crime; for their only wish is to be with us in Israel. Here in New York and throughout America, we beg people of good will to do all in their power to save our sons and to allow them to be reunited with us in Israel.”
Meanwhile, the National Conference on Soviet Jewry reported that an appeal was filed yesterday in Moscow for Nashpitz and Tsitlionok. There was no immediate information as to when the appeal will be heard.
At the same time, Bronx Borough President Robert Abrams today proclaimed April 13 as “Solidarity Sunday” for Soviet Jews in the Bronx and urged residents to join the march and rally. He charged that the USSR continued to harass Jews who had applied for visas to emigrate to Israel and declared that only continued outspoken protest by concerned Americans could keep intense pressure on the Soviet government to relax their restrictive emigration policies.
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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.
