Some 15 members of the Jewish Defense League staged a demonstration this morning atop the balcony of the Park East Synagogue directly opposite the Soviet Mission to the United Nations. The JDLers were protesting the oppression of Soviet Jews. Rabbi Arthur Schneier of the Park East Synagogue said he deplored “the invasion and takeover of our synagogue” and condemned “the irresponsible tactics of the self-appointed defenders of Soviet Jewry” which he said are geared “to project the Jewish Defense League and-not the problems of our brethren in the Soviet Union.”
Rabbi Schneier said the JDL members came to the synagogue under the pretext of attending morning services, but that during the services began to move upstairs and onto the balcony He said they disrupted services and were then given an ultimatum to leave by 3 p.m. They left a few minutes after three, the rabbi said. Meanwhile, at 2:30 p.m. some 250 JDL members converged at 67th St. and 3rd Avenue where they staged a one-hour protest. Traffic was blocked along the street where the Soviet Mission is located and 16 persons were arrested.
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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.
