Ncsj Asks Visiting Soviet Official to Intercede on Behalf of USSR Jews

The National Conference on Soviet Jewry today called on the Soviet Minister of Culture, who is visiting the United States to expand US – Soviet cultural exchange, to help give Soviet Jews the cultural rights and the freedom of which they are now deprived.

The Conference directed its appeal at Yekaterina A. Furtseva, the Soviet Minister of Culture, who is here to open a Soviet art exhibit in Washington, D.C. today. While in the United States, she is expected to meet with cultural leaders to discuss exchanges between the two countries. The exhibit will later be seen in five other cities under the US-USSR cultural exchange program.

In issuing the statement, Richard Maass, chairman of the Conference, said that “in order to help achieve world peace, we welcome the easing of tensions between the two countries, but we also want to show a positive concern for Soviet Jews who are deprived of their culture and their freedoms.”

Maass called upon Mrs. Furtseva that on her return to the USSR she “help alleviate existing tensions by seeking immediate unconditional release of all Jewish prisoners of conscience now rotting in labor camps,” Maass also called for the easing of emigration procedures and stated: “Even though Soviet Russia has apparently relaxed some of its restrictions and allowed a certain number of Jews to go to Israel–a move which must be welcomed–regrettably this does not answer the basic problem of Soviet Jews.

He noted that in the various Soviet art and music groups now touring the US, “there is no expression whatsoever of the Jewish contribution to Soviet life,” despite the fact that Jews have contributed greatly to the world of Soviet art. “Why are they not represented?” Maass asked.