Texas Jewish Post (Fort Worth, Tex.), Vol. 43, No. 9, Ed. 1 Thursday, March 2, 1989 Page: 2 of 20
twenty pages : ill. ; page 16 x 12 in. Scanned from physical pages.View a full description of this newspaper.
Extracted Text
The following text was automatically extracted from the image on this page using optical character recognition software:
TEXAS JEWISH POST, THURSDAY, MARCH 2, 7989
Features
Jewish Cultural Center in Moscow Called First Step in Struggle
BY SUSAN BIRNBAUM
NEW YORK (JTA) —
The Jewish Cultural Cen-
ter that opened Feb. 12
in Moscow, though cer-
tainly welcome, has not
garnered rave reviews
among Soviet Jews or
their supporters in the
West.
Union, returning from
his home in Israel to
participate in the his-
tory-making event.
But those who want
something Jewish —of
substance—in the
Soviet Union, are quick
to acknowledge this
center as a first step.
“At the moment, it's
all they've got," said
Glenn Richter, nation-
al coordinator of the
Student Struggle for
Soviet Jewry.
This fact tempered
the optimism over the
Center and of the recent
articles in the Soviet
press supporting Jewish
life and aspirations.
The Soviet Commun-
ist Party weekly, Argu-
ments and Facts,
published a long article
by the co-chairman of
the Anti-Zionist Com-
mittee, Gen David
Dragunsky, attacking
the cultural center.
Richter said last week
that "although Jewish
activists in Russia have
a very small say in this
cultural center, it's far
from adequate."
* In Chicago, Marilyn
Tallman, co-chairman
of Chicago Action for
Soviet Jewry, said
Jewish culture in the
Soviet Union "is Jewish
culture as interpreted
by the Soviet govern-
ment, not freely and in-
dependently by Jews."
Neither Richter nor
Tallman believes that
the cultural center yet
represents that in-
dependent Jewish
culture.
But hoping that it one
day will, leaders of
Soviet Jewry groups in
the United States
flocked to the opening,
to rub shoulders with
foreign ambassadors
and refuseniks.
Yuli Edelshtein be-
came the first former
prisoner of Zion to
return to the Soviet
Edelshtein, who
emigrated 19 months
ago, said before his
flight from Ben-Gurion
Airport, "I think I can
perform a mitzvah by
returning to Moscow. I
hope to develop con-
nections with the
emerging Jewish
cultural groups there
and, as a Jewish educa-
tor, to contribute to
what is taught at the
cultural center"
But Richter and
others pointed out one
ominous note, that the
much-reviled Anti-
Zionist Committee of
the Soviet Public has
not been disbanded,
despite promises that it
was.
Edelshtein was grant-
ed a visa to return to the
Soviet Union through
the Soviet Embassy in
Canberra, Australia,
with the assistance of Isi
Leibler, who arranged
Soviet visas for the en-
tire Israeli contingent.
Leibler, vice presi-
dent of the World
Jewish Congress, is the
main person responsi-
ble for the Solomon
Mikhoels Jewish
Cultural Center.
Both Micah Naftalin,
the executive director
of the Union of Coun-
cils for Soviet Jews, and
the group's president,
Pamela Cohen, were
there, as were Shoshana
Cardin, chairwoman of
the National Confer-
ence on Soviet Jewry,
and Myrna Shinbaum,
the National Conferen-
ce's outgoing director.
Shinbaum, in a
telephone, conversation
from Vienna, charac-
terized Sunday night's
event as a mixture of
joy and caution.
"All the Western
speakers, while ap-
plauding the opening of
the levs ish i ultural c en
tei, expiessed caution
that there not be too
much euphoria, and
that we see the actual
operation of this
cultural center open to
all Soviet Jews," Shin-
baum said.
Shinbaum describ-
ed a tumultuous scene
at Taganskaya Square,
in which hundreds of
people packed the
inadequate theater that
was most recently the
Moscow Jewish Musical
Theater and which ac-
commodates only 300.
Outside, teem ing
crowds gathered to wit-
ness history, dancing
horas and singing in
Hebrew.
gram, which began at 5
p.m. with the affixing of
a mezuzah by Leibler,
was heralded by a group
recitation of the
"Shehecheyanu" —
thanking God "for
giving us life, and sus-
taining us and bringing
us to this day."
The ceremonies took
place in four languages:
Russian, English,
Hebrew and Yiddish.
"I did not have
enough faith in you," he
told the crowd. He
called on the Soviets to
establish relations with
Israel and reveal the
facts about Raoul
Wallenberg, who the
Russians say died of
heart failure at the age
of 35 in a prison.
Nobel Peace Prize
laureate Elie Wiesel,
who dedicated the cen-
ter, admitted that 25
years ago, when he
described Soviet Jews
as "The Jews of Silen-
ce," he did not believe
they would become a
major Jewish presence.
The ceremony was
addressed as well by the
daughter of slain Yid-
dish actor Solomon
Mikhoels, whose name
now graces the center.
She came from Israel to
speak at the opening.
There were speeches
by Roman Spektor and
Mikhail Chlenov of the
Jewish Cultural Asso-
ciation, as well as
Leibler and WJC
President Edgar Bronf-
man, who met Monday
with Soviet Foreign
Minister Eduard Shev-
ardnadze to discuss U.S.-
Soviet relations and the
Middle East.
A brochure, printed in
Russian, English and
Hebrew, contained the
speakers' messages and
included one from Yuli
Kosharovsky, the long-
est-waiting refusenik
until he received per-
mission in December.
Kosharovsky, pre-
sent at the ceremony,
expects to leave for
Israel March 1. He ex-
pressed hope "that
others will not have to
wait the 17 years" and
"not have to go
through" what he did.
Shinbaum and Car-
din met with "scores of
refuseniks," whose
"greatest concern was
that these Jewish as-
sociations be recogniz-
ed and that there be in-
stitutionalization of
their right to exist."
Refuseniks told Car-
din they were concern-
ed "that attention not
be diverted from their
situation," Cardin as-
sured them that "the
issue of emigration
would remain a prior-
ity."
Now, said Shinbaum,
the National Conferen-
ce "will closely monitor
activities within the
Soviet Union to assure
that this was not a one-
time shot."
Speaker Says Jewry Movement in Progress
Washington, D.C. —A
leading Israeli expert on
Soviet Jewry urged
Western advocates of
the struggle for Jewish
emigration and cultural
expression in the Soviet
tation to the annual
Plenary session of the
National Jewish Com-
munity Relations Ad-
visory Council
(NJCRAC), Dinstein
called on the Soviet
for European and Cana-
dian Affairs, who called
recent developments in
the Soviet Union "rem-
arkable." He added,
"We applaud the gains
that have been made,
have occurred in the
past, could also take
place in the future."
The two speakers ad-
dressed more than 500
delegates_from
Soviet Jews Now Reached by Radio
BY MARLENE
GOLDMAN
NEW YORK (JTA)-In
the wake of glasnost,
the two-year Soviet cork
on shortwave radio
transmission of Jewish
history and culture from
Israel has been popped,
allowing an open flow
of broadcasts.
radio frequencies so
that only four cities —
Moscow, Leningrad,
Odessa and
Kiev —could tune in.
With the Soviet gov-
ernment's lift of the
ban, the academy can
now reach all Jews in
the Soviet Union during
its three broadcasts per
week
"We're trying to
build a positive self
image of the Jew,"
Geller said.
About $450,000 will be
required to complete
the contracted series.
AJ Com m ittee ini-
tiated the project in
1983 in response to ap-
peals from Soviet Jews
who met with their dele-
gation to Moscow
Since December 1986,
the Academy of the Air
for Jewish Studies, a
U.S.-based group, has
spent $200,000 transmit-
ting a half-hour pro-
grams to the Soviet
Union from Israel
Radio, the Israel Broad-
cast Authority.
The broadcasts ad-
dress a variety of Jewish
educational sub|ects,
but avoid political
issues for fear of
another ban.
Until this past Octo-
ber, the Soviet govern-
ment had jammed the
"The lectures are tail-
ored for a very specific
audience," said David
Geller, coordinator of
the academy and direct-
or of European affairs
for the American Jewish
Committee.
"Many, many refuse-
niks and activists were
saying 'return to us our
roots,' " said Abraham
Silverstein, an AJCom-
mittee member and part
of the delegation. "They
requested kinship with
the Diaspora through-
out the world," he said.
In just over two years,
some 250 tapes have
been prepared and 150
half-hour programs
have been broadcast.
Union to acknowledge
the reality of the
changes that have oc-
curred in the past year
The five-hour pro-
"Some claim that the
more the Soviet Union
changes, the more it
stays the same. But the
situation has totally
changed and we cannot
turn a blind eye to
that," said Dr. Yoram
Dinstein, Pro-Rector
and Professor of Inter-
national Law at Tel Aviv
University. In a oresen-
Jewry advocacy
movement to en-
courage the Soviet
Union to institute even
more reforms by taking
dramatic steps, in-
cluding asking for a
waiver of the Jackson-
Vanik Amendment.
but we continue to
press for further im-
provements."
The assessment of
important changes in
Soviet behavior regar-
ding Soviet Jews was
shared by Thomas W
Simons, Deputy Assis-
tant Secretar
"Despite all the im-
provements we have
seen" Simons added,
"the Soviet human
rights picture remains
far from meeting accep-
table international stan-
dards. The changes have
not been institutionaliz-
ed through changes in
law and regulation. We
are well aware that shif-
1
To prepare the broad-
casts, the academy em-
ploys authorities in lit-
erature, religion, history
and philosophy for lec-
tures and discussions on
such subjects as the
history of Russian and
Polish Jewry, Jewish
philosophy and ethics,
Torah, and the period of
the Second Temple,
which was the
academy's first broad-
cast.
Though the exact
tally of listeners is still
unknown, pending fur-
ther study, estimates
run to the tens of
thousands, while
teaching Hebrew in the
Soviet Union only
reaches the hundreds.
NJCRAC's 13 national
and 116 local agencies
attending the four-day
conference at the
Washington Hilton.
Noting that some ob-
servers are concern-
ed about the future of
Soviet reform if Mikhail
Gorbachev is removed
as leader of the Soviet
Union, Dinstein argued
that many of the
measures which have
Upcoming Pages
Here’s what’s next.
Search Inside
This issue can be searched. Note: Results may vary based on the legibility of text within the document.
Tools / Downloads
Get a copy of this page or view the extracted text.
Citing and Sharing
Basic information for referencing this web page. We also provide extended guidance on usage rights, references, copying or embedding.
Reference the current page of this Newspaper.
Wisch, J. A. & Wisch, Rene. Texas Jewish Post (Fort Worth, Tex.), Vol. 43, No. 9, Ed. 1 Thursday, March 2, 1989, newspaper, March 2, 1989; Fort Worth, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth754605/m1/2/: accessed July 17, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; .