The Gavrill Derchavin, the first Soviet freighter ever to dock at Los Angeles Harbor, was besieged on land, water and air today, by student demonstrators demanding justice for Soviet Jews facing trial. While nervous police, Coast Guardsmen and Harbor police tried to keep the youngsters away from the vessel, one demonstrator managed to break through police lines to affix an Israeli flag to her hull. A Russian sailor pulled it off and threw it into the water. The demonstration was organized by the Southern California Council for Soviet Jews and the California Students for Soviet Jews. Two of the youngsters. Tom Burns and Zev Yaroslavsky, tried to approach the freighter in a rowboat to paint slogans on her hull but were blocked by Harbor Police. Meanwhile, a rented helicopter buzzed over the ship dragging a banner that read, “Let The Jews Go.” About 50 students picketed outside the dock gates. The demonstrations took place in view of the ship’s crew. The seamen were apparently warned by their officers not to respond to questions dealing with Soviet Jews. The ship’s master, Capt. Valentin Sobolevsky, told newsmen, “I know nothing about what they want.” A student spokesman said the demonstration was called to protest the imminent trials of 34 Soviet Jews accused of plotting to hijack a Russian airliner at Leningrad last spring or other alleged offenses.
JTA has documented Jewish history in real-time for over a century. Keep our journalism strong by joining us in supporting independent, award-winning reporting.
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.
