The National Conference on Soviet Jewry has learned that the Kishinev authorities are trying to win over the local populace and are therefore encouraging the ultra-nationalist feelings of the Moldavians. Moldavians are getting all the government positions and it is difficult for Jews to get jobs. Even Jews with professional degrees are having a difficult time in finding employment and, when they do succeed, it is invariably jobs of lower rank.
Jewish students, the Conference reported, are having difficulty entering institutions of higher education and they often have to give bribes to be admitted. It was once easier to be admitted to evening classes but now that, too, is difficult. The anti-Semitic atmosphere is also felt in kindergartens. When punishing a Jewish child, a teacher will say “Jew boy.” If he doesn’t be have, he will be put in a corner, according to the Conference. In stores and markets, one can often hear: “Go buy meat (or anything else) in Palestine.”
The Conference also reported that half of a Jewish cemetery on Kalbyshev Street in Kishinev was turned into a public park. People walk on the tombstones. The portion which is still a cemetery is not being properly kept up.
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.
