Moscow Defends Author of Anti-semitic Book; Says He Had ‘good Intentions’

The Soviet Embassy here today transmitted to the Jewish Telegraphic Agency the text of a statement distributed by the Soviet news agency Novosti, in defense of the anti-Semitic book “Judaism Without Embellishment, ” published by the Ukrainian Academy of Science in Kiev.

The statement, written by a Jewish Communist named Shimon Katz, claims that T.K. Kitchko, the author of the notorious book, had acted under his right to engage in anti-religious propaganda, and wrote the book “with good intentions.” At the same time the statement contained some vague criticism of the way the author tried ” introduce scientific views on Judaism to his readers. ” The statement stressed that “the policy of the Soviet Government in the nationality question cannot be appraised on the basis of only one work by an atheist.”

The Soviet Embassy here also told the JTA today that it had no information about the fate of the individual parcels of matzoh which were sent to Soviet Jews from abroad, and which were reported here to have been held up by Soviet customs authorities instead of being delivered to the addressees. The Embassy said this report would have to be checked in Moscow.

An Embassy spokesman, Yuri Bobrakov, told the JTA that the private matzoh bakery in Moscow is now operating again, and that the Embassy had received photographs showing the operation. He said the bakery had been closed down for only three days, and cited information attributed to Novosti that 800 pounds of matzoh were being baked there daily. The agency report, he stated, gave a detailed description of the baking process. He claimed the matzoth were being distributed “to four Moscow synagogues.”