Rigerman: Established Jewish Groups Lax in Rallying Support for Soviet Jews

An impassioned Leonid Rigerman lashed out last night at the established

“It began with Mikhoels in 1948,” Rigerman declared, “and the 23 in 1952. Now 78 Jews are in jail…By protesting and stretching out our helping hand to the Jews who are fighting, we are helping and supporting those who are sure to come and take their place in the movement.” There are many Soviet Jews, the computer programer stated, “who are determined to fight and to get out, and they will be doing this whether we will support them or not”; therefore, “to say we will harm them by demonstrations is ridiculous.” He added that “if we do not help, the Soviet Jewish people will help themselves and it will only be on our conscience.” Rigerman called for the sending of protest letters with “strong content” to Soviet authorities via registered mail. He also urged Jewry to “make gentile organizations all over the world care about this problem,” and to launch a series of “nationwide demonstrations.” Rigerman, the usually quiet-spoken activist who obtained U.S. citizenship last Dec. 19 and arrived in New York Feb. 20, said the Center for Russian Jewry and its youth wing, the Student Struggle for Soviet Jewry–which were instrumental in effecting his own departure–were the only “really effective” American groups working on behalf of Soviet Jews.

Rigerman added that the Jewish Defense League was helpful in the cause because it “encourages” Soviet Jews, but he reiterated his criticism of some JDL tactics. The Soviet emigre warned in his 40-minute talk that Soviet psychiatrists were developing a drug to inject into incarcerated Jews to “cure them from their desire to be Jewish.” On April 5, a reliable Jewish source unconnected with the Center for Russian Jewry told the JTA that when a sane person is sent to a Soviet asylum it is to drug him to “break him mentally.” Yaakov Gladstone, coordinator for the Center’s activities, told the JTA that Rigerman’s appeal “proved to us that we are right: the demonstrations do not harm. The Jewish established organizations must become actively involved in these demonstrations and not leave it to the few thousand youngsters who have the courage to come out to the streets.”