Resolution Adopted by the CCAR
SOVIET UNION
Digests of resolutions adopted by the
Central Conference of American Rabbis
between 1889 and 1974
1. See Russia.
2. Recognizing that the condition of our unfortunate brethren in Russia has
not improved,
that unless unforeseen changes occur in the political situation there, the
fate of
six million Jews in Russia will continue to be a source of the gravest
concern, we
feel as though some effort should be made to arouse the national conscience in
this
matter. We therefore request that our government be requested to continue its
good
offices in securing the amelioration of these conditions, and that this
resolution
be sent to our government in Washington. (1910, p. 148)
3. It is now universally recognized that the religious and cultural
institutions of
the Jews of the Soviet Union and its satellite countries have been suppressed
and
virtually destroyed. Jewish writers have been executed, individual Jews have
been
victims of anti-Semitism, and the right of the Jewish group to retain its
cultural integrity
and practice religious freedom has been denied. These facts are admitted even
by
the present Communist rulers themselves.
Here, indeed, is an excellent opportunity for the Communist regimes, by
undoing the
evils of the past, to establish a different climate of opinion in their
countries.
We pray that the mistreatment of Jews in Communist lands and the destruction
of their
ethnic integrity may speedily be ended, and that our people may again be
enabled
to practice their religious and cultural freedom without restraint. And we are
resolved
to do all we can in consonance with our ideals and obligations as American
citizens
to help our brothers in these lands preserve their Jewish identity and their
religious
heritage. (1956)
4. Whereas, it has become abundantly clear that the survival of Jewish
religious and
cultural life in the USSR and other Communist countries is seriously
threatened,
and
Whereas, we have received disturbing reports that the opportunity for Jews to
participate
in the economic and educational life of the countries in the Soviet orbit is
being
steadily reduced,
Be it therefore resolved, that the CCAR communicate its deep concern over this
situation
to the Secretary of State of the United States. (1960, p. 120)
5. The members of our Conference alert American Jewry and the people of our
country
with a view to arousing public opinion to the unique discrimination and
persecution
of Jews and Judaism in the USSR; and that we commend the continued courage and
persistent loyalty to Judaism on the part of our co-religionists in the Soviet
Union. (1962,
p. 142)
6. We applaud the action of the United States Congress and the statement
of President Johnson deploring the treatment of Soviet Jewry and the threat of
cultural
genocide confronting our co-religionists in Russia. We call attention to our
resolution
of 1962, and urge the continuing efforts of all American Jews and Jews in the
free world to help achieve religious and cultural freedom for Jews in the
Soviet Union.
(1965, p. 118)
7. The Central Conference of American Rabbis proposes that the American Jewish
Conference
on Soviet Jewry be urged to solicit funds so that adequate staff be employed
in order
to strengthen its ongoing program. (1966, p. 98)
8. We call upon American Jewry to intensify efforts to effect the release of
those
Jews who desire to emigrate from the Soviet Union. (1967, p. 104)
9. We, the members of the Central Conference of American Rabbis, vigorously
condemn
the recent closed Leningrad and Riga trials of Jews as a perversion of
justice, and
the harsh penalties imposed as barbaric. It is no "crime" to be a
Jew or want to
live as a Jew. True justice demands that the Soviet government immediately
release such Jews
now languishing in jail, including those awaiting trial in Kishinev and
Odessa, and
grant amnesty to those who have been unjustly sentenced.
We are particularly concerned with the condition of Ruth Aleksandrovich, one
of the
youngest prisoners of conscience in the world, who is seriously ill and
reportedly
is being held in solitary confinement in a dank cell with a wet floor and no
bed.
In the name of humanity, we call upon the USSR to free Ruth Aleksandrovich and
permit her
to be reunited with her loved ones.
We are awed by the great courage displayed by our fellow Jews, who are no
longer "Jews
of Silence." At the very peril of their lives–through their petitions,
letters, demonstrations,
and study of Torah–they have made known to the leaders and people of the
Soviet Union, and to the people of all the world, that Am Yisrael Chai–the
people
of Israel lives! We are heartened by their ardent yearning to live in the
State of
Israel in freedom.
We call upon all people who believe in justice, freedom, and dignity of man to
appeal
to the Soviet Union to cease these trials and the suppression of Jews and
Jewish
life.
We urgently call upon the President of the United States to intercede with the
appropriate
leaders of the Soviet Union and urge that government to permit those Jews who
so
desire the right to emigrate to Israel or any other country of their choosing
in
accordance with the United Nations declaration on human rights.
The Central Conference of American Rabbis notes with gratitude the serious
concern
expressed by our elected representatives in Congress for the critical position
of
Russian Jewry and the introduction and sponsorship of legislation such as HR
5606
as amended, which would open the doors of the United States to any of the
three million Soviet
Jews who, deprived of cultural and religious freedom of expression, desire to
immigrate.
We declare our solidarity with the Jews of the Soviet Union. Their struggle is
also
our struggle. Strengthened by their valorous example and recognizing that Kol
Yisrael
Arevim Zeh Vazeh "all Jews are responsible for one another," we, the
members of this
Conference pledge our active support in our communities and in our
congregations on
behalf of Soviet Jewry. We, who live in a land of freedom, must not become
Jews of
Silence and apathy! (1971, p. 41)
10. We of the Central Conference of American Rabbis,
exercise their
human right to emigrate from the Soviet Union to countries of their choice,
especially
to the State of Israel, the land of their historic origin. This right of
emigration has been affirmed by the United Nations Universal Declaration of
Human Rights, which
states: "Everyone has the right to leave any country, including his own,
and to return
to his country" (Article 13, Paragraph 2).
harassment
of Jews whose only "unapproved" act is to apply legally and
officially for permission
to leave the Soviet Union.
languish unjustly
in jails, in prison camps, in psychiatric wards, as punishment for declaring
their
freedom of choice to settle in other lands.
the USSR
to lead a fulfilling Jewish life–studying, teaching, and living the heritage,
the
culture, the history, the languages, the beliefs, the practices, and the
ideals of
the Jewish people.
been granted
the opportunity to emigrate to Israel, thereby to begin a new life of dignity
and
usefulness.
join us in
this cause on behalf of those who are denied their inalienable rights and who
need
the friendship and encouragement of all men of good will, of all seekers of
fairness
and justice.
We express to our co-religionists in the Soviet Union our abiding brotherly
concern,
our compassion in their sorrows and dilemmas, our blessings for faith and
courage
and Shalom, and our assurance that they are not and shall not be forgotten.
(1972,
p. 96)
11. At this historic moment, when the head of the Soviet Communist Party is
engaged
in conversations and negotiations with the President of the United States, we,
the
members of the CCAR, in convention assembled, reaffirm our commitment to our
Jewish
brethren who remain in the Soviet Union unable to leave and afraid to live
openly as Jews.
We are appalled by the continued arrest of so-called "activists" who
are unjustly
put in prisons, accused of what are euphemistically called "Zionist
Activities."
We are dismayed that the Soviet Union has chosen to require that abnormally
large
sums of money be paid by those seeking to emigrate, in order to procure an
exit visa.
We are repulsed by the tactic which places those who apply for exit visas in
what
amounts to an economic and political limbo by prohibiting them from working
gainfully
while, at the same time, holding them culpable for being unemployed.
We beseech the President of the United States to use his good offices at this
politically
propitious moment to intervene with the head of the Communist Party on behalf
of
the Jews of the Soviet Union.
We appeal to the Soviet government, through its leaders, to respond to the
pleas of
the Jews of the USSR, and ask that they be permitted to leave the USSR without
the
horrible political and economic harassment to which they have been subjected.
In
particular, we call for immediate repeal of the heinous Exit Tax.
We further appeal for the immediate release of the many who now languish in
Soviet
prisons, accused of "Zionist activities."
We call upon our Rabbinic colleagues to institute and to strengthen programs
within
their Synagogues and communities which will serve to keep information flowing
to
their constituents and which will motivate Jews outside of the USSR to work
for the
salvation of Soviet Jewry–independently and in cooperation with those
agencies and organizations
which concern themselves with Soviet Jewry. (1973, p. 109)