A movement calling itself “The Key to Freedom,” organized to help Soviet Jews emigrate to Israel, was launched in Miami, Florida, it was announced today. The organization projects an eventual membership of one million. According to Rabbi Tibor H. Stern, spiritual leader of the Jacob Cohen Community Synagogue of Miami and founder of the movement, it will be non-denominational, non-profit and “definitely non-violent.” Each member will be presented with a key as a “symbol of commitment to open the gates of prisons and tear down the Iron Curtain that prevents people from living in freedom in the country of their heritage,” according to the announcement.
One of the primary purposes of the movement will be to collect funds which will be turned over to the “responsible Jewish leadership to use to the best advantage for the repatriation and rehabilitation of the people who secure exit visas from Russia.” Rabbi Stern will participate soon in a world conference to be called for the activation of plans to free Russian Jews. Rabbi Stern was described as “a spokesman for Orthodox Jewry and an authority on Jewish law.”
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.
