Rabbi Abraham Hirshberg of Mexico has flown to Teheran and hopes to be allowed to conduct services for the Jews who are among the American hostages held in the U.S. Embassy.
Hirshberg told Kol Yisrael radio in a telephone interview from Teheran today that he was in touch with the Iranian authorities who “invited” him to Teheran and who would determine precisely when he would go to the Embassy. He said he did not know how many of the hostages were Jewish. Four Christian clergymen were allowed to conduct lengthy services for the hostages on Christmas Eve.
Kol Yisrael said Hirshberg, born in Poland and formerly a rabbi in Chicago and Montreal, reached Iran “via Jordan and Syria.” He said he had received a “warm welcome” apparently by members of the Jewish community in Teheran and that he had met with the “Chief Rabbi” of Teheran. He said his trip was arranged through the Iranian Embassy in Washington. (See related hostages’ story P. 4.)
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