The Soviet Government has granted permission for the construction of a new synagogue at Leningrad, it was reported here today by Dr. Gerhard Riegner, European director for the World Jewish Congress.
Here to attend a meeting of the World Congress organizational committee, as well as to participate in the 25th World Zionist Congress which opens in Jerusalem a week from today, Dr. Riegner told a press conference that he saw signs of possible easement of Soviet Russia’s attitude toward Jews in the USSR.
Among the signs, he said, are the permission for the building of the new synagogue, the announced readiness by the Russian Government to publish some Yiddish literature, and the request recently made by Jewish writers in Russia to publish a Yiddish manual. These moves, Dr. Riegner said, have encouraged Jewish leaders to hope that “more positive developments may be anticipated in the Soviet Union regarding Jewish culture and religion.”
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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.
