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Writer Says Soviet Jews Are No Longer Afraid to Complain Publicly

September 10, 1969
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An American-Jewish writer who arrived here after a visit to Russia said yesterday that Soviet Jews are no longer afraid to complain publicly of their grievances against the Soviet regime. According to S.L. Schneiderman of New York, the liberal trend among young Soviet writers and poets has encouraged Jews to voice protests against alleged discrimination in universities, public institutions and other areas of life in Russia.

Mr. Schneiderman, who was entertained here by the Israeli Executive of the World Jewish Congress, said Soviet Jews warned against exaggerations of their difficulties. They are not in physical danger and there is no noticeable mass anti-Semitism in the Soviet Union or what is called “street-corner” anti-Semitism, the writer said. But he claimed that he got the impression that almost all Soviet Jewish youth want to go to Israel and hope that the pressure of world public opinion will influence the regime to permit their emigration.

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