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Pious Jews in USSR Practice Religion Clandestinely. A.J.C. Report Declares

January 22, 1951
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Soviet Jews who wish to practice their religion in strict conformance with its rules and free from secret police surveillance must do so clandestinely, the American Jewish Committee declared this week-end in a report based on interviews with people who have fled the U.S.S.R. The A.J.C. said that these accounts indicate that Orthodox Jews carry on what is virtually an underground religion apart from the recognized Jewish religious institutions.

The A.J.C. report also states that despite the legal Soviet ban against anti-Semitism, the material available indicates that it is still a strong force in the Soviet population. Latent before World War II, it broke into the open during the conflict, the report quotes refugees as saying.

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