The Student Struggle for Soviet Jewry has urged “all concerned Americans to keep a light for freedom shining at their window” as linked American and Soviet spaceships fly over North America on the night of July 17. The Soviet and U.S. astronauts are slated to come together that day for a joint space mission.
“Light will be our symbol of hope for the freedom of Soviet Jews,” a SSSJ spokesman stated. “and perhaps it is not a coincidence that Thursday evening July 17 is the close of Tisha B’ Av fast day which mourns the destruction of the Holy Temple. We hope that the astronauts will see lights shining across America, and our message will penetrate the hearts of the Kremlin’s rulers. From the Soviet destruction of Russian Jewry we pray for a redemption.”
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.
