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Jewish Students from Two Universities in Australia Demonstrate in Front of Soviet Embassy

August 30, 1967
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Jewish university students from Melbourne and Sydney staged a demonstration here today in front of the Soviet Embassy, protesting against anti-Semitism in the Soviet Union and demanding that the USSR permit its Jews to emigrate. The placards carried by the students proclaimed a number of slogans including: “Let My People Go,” “Down With Russian-Arab Fascism,” “End Soviet Anti-Semitism” and “Stop Arming Arab Fascists.”

With the doors of the Embassy locked and bolted, a delegation representing the 120 students was barred from entry. However, Allan Leibler, a student at Melbourne University and spokesman for the group, managed to get to the Soviet consular desk, leaving there a petition on the issues addressed to Soviet Premier Alexei N. Kosygin. An angry Russian came out of the Embassy, and returned the petition to Leibler, declaring “we don’t want anything to do with you people.”

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