An analysis of the situation of the Jews in the Soviet Union was published in the Congressional Record today. It indicated an obvious trend of anti-Jewish and anti-Zionist sentiment within the U.S.S.R. The analysis was prepared by Prof. Sergius Yakobson, chief of the Foreign Affairs Section of the Legislative Reference Service of the Library of Congress.
Professor Yakobson traced the development of anti-Semitism in the Soviet Union since the early 1930’s, including the suppression and Russification of Jewish cultural life and the liquidation of Jewish influence in the government.
Anti-Jewish excesses developed when Jewish evacuees returned after the war to their homes in war-devastated regions of Russia, Professor Yakobson established. “The recent war years, the time of terrible hardships in Russia, strengthened furthermore the anti-Semitic sentiments in various Soviet quarters,” he reported. “They even revived the old accusation of dodging active military service in spite of the fact that Soviet Jewry ranked fourth among the national groups receiving Soviet military decorations.”
The Library of Congress official pointed out that a total of 123,822 Jewish Red Army fighters and war workers received the Order of Lenin, Order of the Red Banner, Medal of the Patriotic War, and other Soviet honors. “It may be said that the current attitude of the Soviet Union toward the Jews has many of the characteristics of traditional anti-Semitism which can hardly encourage or terrify the Russian Jews into resigning themselves to spend the rest of their days in the Soviet Union under a dictatorship,” Prof. Yakobson said.
The Professor, who is considered an authority on Birobidjan, observed that “it is hardly to be expected that the future settlers of Birobidjan will be Jewish. Much speaks against it.” The Jewish mass migration to Birobidjan is considered a failure by Prof. Yakobson.
Discussing the relations between the Soviet Government and Israel, Prof. Yakobson said: “Although it has recognized and entered into diplomatic relations with Israel, the Kremlin is determined not only to prevent the Jews in the Soviet Union from emigrating to the new state, but even from supporting or manifesting their sympathy with their friends in Tel Aviv.” He cites a number of articles in the Soviet press in support of this statement.
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