Diplomatic circles here today expressed themselves as “shocked” and “dismayed” by revelations that an official organ of the Communist Party in the Soviet Union has revived the medieval “blood libel” against Jews and has openly incited Moslems living in the USSR to hatred against Jews.
The “blood libel” and the incitements were printed in the “Kommunist,” the official organ of the Russian Communist Party in Buinaksk, one of the principal cities in the Autonomous Soviet Republic of Daghestan, a region in the Caucasus Mountain and part of the Russian Soviet Federated Socialist Republics. Daghestan is predominantly Moslem.
A copy of the Buinaksk “Kommunist” was viewed here by Western and other diplomats who immediately had the text translated from the bi-lingual publication which is printed in both Russian and Kumyk, the Turkic dialect spoken by the Moslem inhabitants of that area.
In the August 9 issue of the newspaper, delegates here were “shocked” to read the following: “Speaking about their own religion, Jews assert, ‘Our religion is the true religion; we shall enter Paradise; the Moslem religion is false; therefore they (the Moslems) will go to hell.’ The Jews do such uncouth things. For example, a Jew who did not drink the blood of Moslems at least once a year was not considered a tree believer. Consequently, many Jews buy five to ten grams of blood from Moslems, add it to a barrel of water and sell it as ‘water with Moslem blood.'”
Another article in the same newspaper, published July 30, accused the Jews in the region of being “backward elements,” and virtually called on the Moslems to force the closing of the synagogue in Buinaksk. This article spoke of the Jews in the area as “hampering our progress,” and stated:
“One of these factors is the presence of a synagogue in the city of Buinaksk. It is true, only a few dozen aged people visit the synagogue, but the very fact of its presence does great harm. All harmful survivals and rites, such as circumcision, marriage ceremonies according to old custom and many others are inspired and supported by the synagogue.
“That is why one can say with certainty and without exaggeration that the synagogue does damage to the further Communist education of the youths of the Tat nationality, the building of communism and the further spiritual development of the Tats. Therefore the time has come for the Tat community itself to raise the question of the closing of the synagogue.”
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.
