The Soviet Government has ordered the disbanding of the Vaad Yeshiva, a governing council of the only Jewish seminary in the Soviet Union, it was disclosed here today by Label Katz, president of the B’nai B’rith, at the organization’s 118th annual meeting here.
The seminary, which is affiliated with the Moscow synagogue, trains rabbis and religious functionaries. Mr. Katz, who headed a B’nai B’rith group that visited the Soviet Union in August, said he had learned at that time that the seminary’s enrollment was 12 students.
Mr. Katz said that B’nai B’rith had received “confirming information” of the secret trial and conviction of three Jewish leaders of the main Moscow synagogue. He said that despite the earlier absence of any public announcements, the convictions of the three Moscow Jewish religious leaders and of the three others in Leningrad, became known among religious Jews in both communities. “They are interpreting it as an effort to suppress further what is already a sadly diminished practice of Judaism in the Soviet Union,” Mr. Katz said.
The B’nai B’rith leader said the recent events “appear to indicate a pattern of stepped-up harassments of Judaism in the Soviet Union.” He linked them with the forced closing of synagogues in 12 Soviet cities in the past 13 months. He said the leader of the Moscow group, an engineer named Ryshal, was sentenced to seven years of hard labor. “We have learned that Ryshal, who is known to be a very pious Jew, conducted himself with great courage and dignity during the ordeal of the secret trial,” Mr. Katz declared.
Mr. Ryshal and his companions were convicted at a three-day trial that ended October 2, the day before the Jewish festival of Simchas Torah. Presumably the Moscow trial preceded the one in Leningrad which reportedly concluded on October 13. His information, Mr. Katz added, is that Ryshal is about 60 years old and had been “very energetic” in the spiritual affairs of the Moscow synagogue. He had not learned the exact nature of the charges against Ryshal and the others, he said.
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