Soviet Accused at UN Meeting of Denying Jews Their Identity

The Soviet government was accused here today of trying to obliterate Jewish culture in the Soviet Union.

Andree Farhi, representing the International Council of Jewish Women, leveled the charge at a meeting of the United Nations Human Rights Commission which opened a debate on human rights violations throughout the world. Mrs. Farhi said here organization was concerned over the situation of Jews in the USSR.

One of the several rights denied them touches on their very identity as Jews, she said. If they wished to learn Hebrew, they risked several years in prison. There are numerous cases where people accused of anti-Soviet propaganda had simply been studying Hebrew.

Fahri observed that the UN Charter, the covenants on human rights and even the Soviet constitutions confirmed the linguistic, cultural and religious rights of all people. Despite these instruments, there is a deliberate effort by the Soviet government to deprive the Jewish community of a culture which was linked with the history of mankind, she said.