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Involvement in the Soviet Jewry Movement Table of Contents Involvement in the Soviet Jewry Movement By Louis Rosenblum © Preface This is a personal account of my involvement, from 1961-1978, in the beginnings and the growth of the Soviet Jewry movement in America. This piece was prepared, June 2007, for inclusion in A Cleveland Jewish History Reader by the Kent State University Press. To this purpose, the content was confined in scope mainly to a limited number of local activities and in size to about dozen and a half pages. For this special PDF edition I have augmented the original text with links (blue highlighted text) to supplemental material. From These Beginnings It began innocently enough in a discussion group. In the fall of 1961, a few of us at Beth Israel-The West Temple, Cleveland, Ohio, formed a Social Action Committee. As chairman we selected Mort Epstein, a soft-spoken, deliberate individual, who headed a graphic design firm. Mort was recognized in the Cleveland community as a long-standing advocate for fair housing. Two others who sparked the group were Herb Caron and Dan Litt. Herb was an assistant professor of psychology at Western Reserve University and a researcher at Crile Hospital. Dan Litt, our rabbi, felt it important that the congregation reach out beyond the confines of Beth Israel, to the larger Jewish world. The remaining members were Don Bogart, a NASA nuclear physicist, a gentle man and ardent champion for social justice; Dave Gitlin, an allergist, an outspoken political activist, who took over the Committee chair in October 1962; and lastly, me, a 38 year-old NASA research manager and president of our small congregation. Mort Epstein Herb Caron Dan Litt Don Bogart Dave Gitlin Lou Rosenblum The Holocaust figured prominently in our studies and deliberations. Not surprisingly, we returned to it again and again; after all it was the central Jewish tragedy in our lives as teenagers or young adults. What particularly struck us was the poverty of response to the dire predicament of European Jews from the U.S. government and — most distressingly — from the American Jewish leadership. Chaim Greenberg, in his angry, anguished essay, Bankrupt, published in the February 1943 issue of the Yiddishe Kemfer, bares the sin of the Jewish leadership. He castigates them for continuing their “normal behavior of in-fighting and advantage-seeking,” one organization over the other, rather than unifying to create a political force to save a greater number of European Jews from the Nazis. By1963, we concluded our studies of the Holocaust period. Clearly, the next question was, is there, nowadays, a major Jewish population at risk? That led us quickly to the plight of 3 million Soviet Jews, well over a quarter of world Jewry. Anti-Semitism was widespread in the Soviet Union, much of it promoted by the government. To boot, the government actively suppressed Jewish cultural and religious expression It was not much of a stretch to foresee — given the tragic fate of tens of millions of Soviet citizens during Stalin’s reign — two possible dire outcomes: denied cultural and religious opportunities, in a generation or two, Jews would disappear as a distinct people; or a campaign of anti- Semitic pogroms and forced resettlement to camps in Siberia would result in physical decimation and incalculable misery. Our sources of information were manifold. We collected a small library of books and articles by academics, as well as by western observers in the Soviet Union. Among the latter were some by Israeli diplomats who spent considerable time in the Soviet Union. Recall that in 1948 the Soviet Union had voted in the UN to recognize the State of Israel and had established formal diplomatic relations. Consequently, there were Israeli diplomatic observers in Moscow up till the infamous 1953 “Doctors’ Plot”, when they were expelled by Stalin. Following Stalin’s death, political relations with Israel resumed. Jews in Eastern Europe, a quarterly published in London, England, beginning in 1962, provided detailed information about general anti-Semitic campaigns by the Soviet government. There were reproductions of Soviet cartoons that depicted Jews in like fashion to the Nazis. In many instances the Soviet authors merely lifted and recycled old Nazi cartoons, only changing the caption to suit Soviet purposes. Books and newspapers from Soviet publishing houses regularly characterized Jews as alien and inimical to Soviet society. Here was a major state blatantly peddling rank hatred. Table of Contents Additionally, there was cultural deprivation. From Stalin’s time on, the Jews were essentially denied access to Jewish culture, including religious expression. Jewish theaters, publications, newspapers were forbidden. And, the Jewish intelligentsia — a large and talented group of individuals — were effectively wiped out, executed or imprisoned by Stalin, between 1948 and 1952. In areas of large Jewish concentration, many synagogues were forcibly closed; the remaining few functioned under control of State-vetted officials. Minyanim , private prayer meetings in homes, were banned. No Hebrew bibles or prayer books had been published, since 1917. First Contact with the Jewish Community Federation of Cleveland In mid-1963 we contacted the Jewish Community Federation of Cleveland (JCFC) to ascertain if any national Jewish organization was providing guidance on the Soviet Jewry issue and if a committee had been set up locally to address the issue. We were surprised to learn that nothing was afoot nationally or locally. Herb Caron appealed to the JCFC to establish a committee to look into the issue and make recommendations for appropriate action. And subsequently, a subcommittee on Soviet Jewry was set up under the Community Relations Committee of the Federation. After a few meetings it was apparent to us that the pace was pedestrian and that little of practical value was forthcoming. For example, the sub- committee did agree to establish a speakers’ bureau — good. Yet, when push came to shove, it was the efforts of Don Bogart and Dave Gitlin of Beth Israel that produced a slide lecture on Soviet Jewry. And, when speakers were needed to fill requests, members of our little Beth Israel group ended up doing the entire job. Launching the Cleveland Committee on Soviet Anti-Semitism (CCSA) In October 1963, we formally organized the Cleveland Committee on Soviet Anti-Semitism, a non- sectarian, inter-racial, inter-religious entity. Herb and Dan were instrumental in lining up the board of directors. As honorary chairman they enlisted Ralph Locher, the Mayor of Cleveland. Other members were Msgr. Cahill, President of St. Johns College; Bruce Whittemore, director of the Cleveland Area Church Federation; Leo Jackson, a prominent African-American and a member of the Cleveland City Council; and Rabbi Phil Horowitz, the associate rabbi at Fairmont Temple. Herb took on the job of executive secretary to the board. With a letterhead and an honorary board, the Committee was off and running. In November, we distributed our first publication, Soviet Terror Against Jews: How Cleveland Initiated An Interfaith Protest, containing a description of the Soviet Jewish problem and an Appeal to Table of Contents Conscience to Soviet Leaders that we requested the reader sign and return to us. About the same time we placed a large ad in the Cleveland newspapers with the Appeal to Conscience and a clip-out, return coupon to sign. In April 1964, a second publication, To the Leaders of the Soviet Union, was distributed containing a letter to Khruschev and the names and addresses of over 600 signers of the Appeal to Conscience. All this and later publications brought us attention from the press and from Clevelanders and individuals elsewhere in the States, who asked to receive our mailings. Within a few years we amassed a significant mailing list (which, in time, grew to include international correspondents). Strange as it seems, our small operation was in contact with people across America, who sought information and advice or to exchange experiences. (In retrospect, a measure of the latent enthusiasm to succor Soviet Jews that later would be called ‘the Soviet Jewry movement’) We had no central office; rather we worked out of our individual homes. Periodically, we met to confer at Herb’s house. We were committed to doing what ever we could. On the National Scene In September 1963, Supreme Court Justice Arthur Goldberg, after reading accounts about Soviet Jewry, invited Senators Ribicoff and Javits to meet with him to discuss what might be done. This was followed by a meeting with Secretary of State Dean Rusk and, subsequently, at the end of October, with President Kennedy. Goldberg reported that the President had considerable prior knowledge of the issue of Soviet Jewry. Kennedy suggested, as a first step, that Goldberg and the senators meet with Soviet Ambassador Dobrynin. Kennedy personally arranged for the meeting. As one might expect, Dobrynin denied any problem existed for Jews in the Soviet Union. Kennedy’s assassination, Nov. 22, closed the door for the time being to further help from Arthur Goldberg the administration. Then, on December 19th, at Goldberg’s suggestion, a meeting to discuss the matter of Soviet Jewry was held with representatives of leading American Jewish organizations.He informed them of his concerns and filled them in on his earlier meetings with the President and others. Goldberg presented his conclusion that silence in the matter of Soviet Jewry was not desirable; on the contrary, responsible action was very much in order. Apparently, Goldberg’s meeting with the Jewish establishment reinforced their resolve to get moving on the Soviet Jewry issue. Only a few weeks earlier, prodded by Rabbi Uri Miller and Rabbi Abraham Heschel, the leaders of several American Jewish organizations had met and agreed to bring together resources for public action and education.
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