News Brief

There was no other way than to send matzoth to the Jews of Soviet Russia, the Riga Committee for Providing Matzoth for Russian Jewry declares, in replying to the attacks made by the well-known Russian-Jewish journalist, Benzion Katz, who in a number of Yiddish papers in Poland, Latvia and elsewhere, condemned the movement carried on to send matzoth into Soviet Russia.

It was the Russian Jews living abroad, the Committee says, who contributed the funds for the matzoth. The Ica, the Alliance and the Agrojoint had all reported a shortage of flour in Russia for baking the matzoth inside the country, and for that reason, in spite of the heavy customs tolls, it was better to send matzoth into the Soviet Union than to send money with which to buy flour and bake the matzoth in the country. Owing to the heavy customs tolls, however, it has not been possible to send to Russia as large a quantity of matzoth as had been intended, and only 28 carloads are being sent. If the local committee abroad raises sufficient funds, however, the money will be sent to those Russian towns which are unable to receive matzoth from the consignments coming from abroad, so that they should make purchases inside the country.

Benzion Katz complained that the action of the Soviet authorities in imposing a fifty kopek duty on the matzoth imports, is an insult to the Jews. “The Soviet authorities are laughing at us,” he wrote. “They have given all Jewry a slap in the face. The report that the Soviet Government will not permit Jews to bake matzoth in Russia must be investigated, and if it is true a protest must be made all over the world. Such a decision would be against the Soviet Constitution. Religious Jews have a right to make with their flour whatever they wish. The Soviet Government is always claiming that it does not interfere with religious convictions. I doubt whether there is such a prohibition, but if there is, and it is for that reason that matzoth are being imported into Russia from abroad, not only religious Jews, but all Jews who respect the principle of religious liberty must raise a protest against it. We must not permit the inquisitional methods employed against the Jewish religion to pass without vigorous action.”

Irving Libenson, of the Mt. Vernon Y. M. H. A., was awarded first prize in the annual oratorical contest conducted among the 50,000 members of the Metropolitan League of Jewish Community Associations. The subject of his speech was “Albert Einstein – An Inspiration to Jewish Youth.” George Bronz, of the 92nd Street Y. M. H. A., with a talk on “Jewish Education – The Decisive Factor in Jewish Survival.” and Irving Davidson, of the Temple Ansche Chesed Center, speaking on the same subject, received honorable mention.