Three Jews were arrested yesterday on their way to the synagogue in Kiev and sentenced to 15-day jail terms for alleged “hooliganism,” the Jewish Telegraphic Agency learned today in a telephone conversation with Jewish sources in Kiev. The three were identified as Igor Mendel, Alexander Feldman and Yuri Soroka. A fourth Jew, unidentified, was arrested at the same time but was released after paying a fine.
According to the sources, the four were surrounded by KGB (secret police) agents while walking to the local synagogue and after brief questioning were pushed into a car and taken to the police station. They were charged with hooliganism and interfering with policemen in performance of their duties. This was the third consecutive weekend marked by arrests of Jews at the synagogue. The sources claim that the arrests are part of the KGB efforts to prevent Jews seeking exit visas from meeting in the synagogue.
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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.
