A spokesman for the State Department has confirmed that the Department refused to issue a visa to Soviet General David Dragunsky, who is the chairman of the Anti-Zionist Committee of the Soviet Public.
Dragunsky, who supports such theories as that Zionists, during World War II, worked hand-in-hand with the Nazis to kill Jews and other innocent victim was scheduled to speak before a luncheon of the Jewish Section of the Communist Party, U.S.A.
According to the State Department spokesman, Dragunsky was denied the visa only because he applied too late. For Soviet officials of certain rank and status, he said, they must apply for an entry visa at least 30 days before the date of arrival. The spokesman said Dragunsky simply did not comply with that time frame. A representative of the Communist Party U.S.A. ‘s Jewish section, when queried by a Jewish Telegraphic Agency correspondent about the visa denial, responded, “so?” and hung up the telephone.
Glenn Richter, director of the Student Struggle for Soviet Jewry in New York, monitors closely the activities of Dragunsky and his committee. Richter characterized the Jewish general as a “self-hating Jews of the worst kind,” and as “the Soviet Union’s token Jew.”
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.
