Soviet Oppressions Against Jews Reported at Lvov and Chernowitz

Reliable travelers returning from the Soviet Union reported here today that anti-Semitism has reached alarming proportions in Lvov, in the western Ukraine. The travelers asserted that Lvov Jews were not employed in any important capacities and that they were being “starved spiritually.” Virtually no Jewish performers or dramatic troupes have been allowed to appear in Lvov. Applications for such performances from Jewish actors in Chernowitz and Kishinev have been turned down.

The travelers also reported persistent rumors that Jews were not accepted at the local university. Some Ukrainians confided that only 1 percent of places at the university were allocated for Jewish students. The reports stated that Jewish marriages are solemnized in secret and that, in one case, the rabbi insisted that the ceremony take place after dark with only the witnesses present. A garage in Lvov, at 23 Lenin Street, has its entrance paved with Jewish tombstones. The Lvov synagogue has been closed since November 1962, following a fierce anti-Jewish campaign in the local press. There are some 50, 000 Jews in Lvov.

It was learned also that Chernowitz Jews who applied for exit permits to go to Israel were subsequently harassed in various ways. Members of the Komsomol, the Communist youth movement, whose parents applied for exit to Israel, have been questioned at length. In Chernowitz, too, Jews are barred from institutions of higher learning, no matter how capable they are, the travelers said. Anti-Jewish manifestations in public places go unpunished, they added. There are 70,000 Jews in Chernowitz.