The Southern California Council for Soviet Jews and the California Students for Soviet Jews plan to send 250,000 Passover cards to Soviet Jewish activists during the next two months. Spokesmen for the groups said the action was part of a nationwide card-sending campaign by the Union of Councils for Soviet Jews. They recalled that two weeks ago Soviet emigre Luba Bershadskaya declared at Sinai Temple here: “You cannot imagine how much courage and spirit the (1970) cards gave us when we felt alone in the Soviet Union.” She said she had received 60 cards in Moscow and 1,000 more later in Israel. “The Russians kept 900 cards and only let me have 60 of them,” she said, “but they knew that Luba Bershadskaya had 1,000 friends in America. They couldn’t touch me after that.” Another recent Soviet emigre, Dr. Esther Aisenstadt, said at Temple Israel here: “The most important thing you can do is send holiday greetings to your Jewish brothers in the Soviet Union. When I received them, it was then that I realized that the Russians would never defeat us. The cards gave us courage and hope.” The new drive–the fourth of its kind–features cards reading: “From the Jews of the U.S. to the Jews of the USSR: We have not forgotten you.” The campaign is being launched in Europe, South America, Africa and Israel in addition to the U.S.
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