The Anti-Zionist Committee of the Soviet Public, the Soviet government-sponsored group which drew international attention last spring when it claimed that the majority of Soviet Jews who desire to leave the USSR have already left, has increased its activities and established offices in most Soviet cities which have a Jewish community.
This information was provided here by officials of the Public Council on Behalf of Soviet Jewry. President. Avraham Harman, chairman David Yafit and Dr. Yuri Stern said the anti-Israel and anti-Semitic committee seemed to work toward becoming a mass movement.
” The very establishment of such a committee, in a multinational country such as the USSR, is a new phen- omenon, ” the Council officials said. “All other nationals are allowed to form committees and associations to promote their culture and language, and only the Jews are forbidden to do so. The new committee acts openly against anything that is related to Judaism.”
The heads of the anti-Zionist Committee, according to council officials, have sought the participation of several Jews in the committee, but were turned down. The Anti-Zionist Committee is led by Samuel Zivs, a Jewish law professor in Moscow, and Gen. (ret.) David Dragunsky, one of the highest ranking Jewish officers in the Red Army.
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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.