Position of Russian Jews Discussed with Soviet Church Delegation

The position of Jews in the Soviet Union, in the light of the experiences of other faiths there, was discussed here by leaders of the Canadian Jewish Congress with a group of delegates of the Orthodox Church of Soviet Russia, who came to Montreal to participate in the fourth World Conference of Faith and Order, being held here under the aegis of the World Council of Churches.

The CJC leaders expressed concern over the fact that the Jews in the Soviet Union have no opportunity of developing a collective life as a religious group, and seem to suffer from a specific policy different from that applied to other denominations, which leads to an enforced disintegration of the Jewish community. They also expressed concern that synagogues are being closed and that facilities are denied to Soviet Jews to establish national organizations for common religious purposes along the lines available to other religious faiths, and that they cannot maintain contact with Jewish communities outside Russia and participate in world Jewish gatherings.

Also discussed was the inability of Jews to obtain matzohs for Passover, and the practicability of each family baking matzohs on its own, which apparently is permissible in Russia. The availability of religious articles and prayer books and the training of religious personnel were also a matter of discussion with the Soviet clergymen.

The position of Jews was analyzed by the Soviet visitors in light of the basic approach of Moscow’s policy toward religion generally. They claimed that no religious denomination is treated either with special favor or being discriminated against, and that Jews have the same opportunities as followers of other faiths to practice religion.

Michael Garber, president of Canadian Jewish Congress, and Lavy M. Becker, chairman of the national foreign affairs committee of the Congress, led the Jewish group.