The Jewish position in Russia is the most difficult and intricate in the history of world Jewry. Heroic measures are required to cope with the situation in which hundreds and thousands of Jewish lives are involved,” declared Samuel C. Lamport, who returned Tuesday on the steamer Majestic from a two months trip abroad, three weeks of which he spent in Soviet Russia.
Mr. Lamport, who went to Russia in the interests of the Cotton Textile Institute of America to study textile conditions in the Soviet domain, stated that the Jewish position is indissolubly bound up with the industrial development of Russia. The development of industry in Russia, with the creation of opportunities for labor is the big hope for the betterment of Jewish conditions, Mr. Lamport maintained.
Unquestionably the Jewish position is the worst of any group in Russia, he said. This is not due, however, to discrimination. The new regime brought about the elimination of the middleman, and the Jew as the largest middleman group, consequently was the worst victim.
The work of the Agro-Joint and the Joint Distribution Committee are of the utmost importance in helping the Jew make a place for himself under the new economic order, he said.
Anti-Semitism as a government policy does not exist in Russia, he declared. There is less anti-Semitism in Russia today than in many other countries of Europe.
The recent disturbances in Palestine have had a wide repercussion in Russia, he said, the tragedy of which is keenly felt by the Jewish community.
“All Europe is horrified at the events (Continued on Page 4)
that have transpired in Palestine. In England, France, Germany, Italy, everywhere I visited, as well as Russia, amazement was expressed that the events could have transpired,” Mr. Lamport stated.
Speaking from his own knowledge of Palestine, which he has visited a number of times, he declared: “It is impossible for the uprisings to have occurred without the officials of Palestine knowing of their imminence. Great Britain is skidding in its policy in Palestine.”
Mr. Lamport’s nephew, Zevi Heller, 18 years old, a student at the Yeshiva in Hebron, died from wounds received in defense against the attackers.
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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.
