Jan Peerce, American opera star, broadcast Passover greetings in Yiddish to the Jews of the Soviet Union. His message was beamed to all parts of the Soviet Union by Radio Liberation via powerful transmitters in West Germany and the Far East.
In his message, part of Radio Liberation’s special program devoted to the Passover festival, the Metropolitan Opera tenor recalled his visit to the Soviet Union in June, 1956, and the “extraordinarily warn.” reception accorded him by Soviet Jews who packed the-Moscow Synagogue to greet him as a representative of American Jews.
“There were perhaps 5, 000 Jews in the synagogue that Sabbath day when you invited me to pray with you, ” Mr. Peerce recalled. “It was an episode I will never forget. I hope that in a short time, with God’s help, we will meet again. And I want you to know that we here in America remember you–and will continue to remember you–as I hope you remember us.”
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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.
