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the status of Soviet Jews and send it – without revealing sources – to institutions, organizations and the communications media in Israel and the world. "Nativ", which as stated operated covertly, tried to influence the global public opinion and primarily the opinions of the leaders of the United States, so that they determine their policy vis-à-vis the Soviet Union according to its treatment of its Jews as well.
The first significant operation of "Nativ" took place in September 1954. A committee of the American Congress heard testimony from representatives of various organizations on the discrimination of Soviet Jews and on Soviet actions to eliminate the Jewish culture and religion. The "Nativ" personnel, who were more proficient than the personnel of any other entity on the issue of the Soviet Union, prepared the public relations background information for the Jewish representatives – including the World Zionist Organization's personnel. Another significant operation of "Nativ" was the preparation of an Israeli delegation of around a hundred singers, dancers and artists that set out in August 1957 to the "Democratic Youth Festival" in Moscow. 34 thousand youths from 131 countries took part in the festival, yet the Soviet Jews only pounced on the Israeli delegation. The members of the delegation – mostly from the Kibbuzim and youth movements – met thousands of Jews and gave them public relations booklets on Israel and small gifts: symbols of the state, Stars of David, flags, stamps and more. This material – some of which was prepared by Jewish Agency personnel – served as "spiritual food" for Jews for a long period. At the end of the festival, Israel's Ambassador to the Soviet Union Yosef Avidar told members of the delegation: "You lit the pillar of fire for the silent Jewry to make Aliya to Israel. We could not expect what happened."
The International Protest against Human Rights Violations in the Soviet Union
The President of the World Jewish Congress Nahum Goldmann, who also served as President of the World Zionist Organization from 1956 to 1968 – initiated a conference of Jewish and non-Jewish statesmen and intellectuals in Paris. The purpose of the conference was to escalate the struggle for the rights of the Soviet Jews to immigrate and demand that they be granted the freedom to be Jews in their own country. Forty personages from 14 countries took part in the conference, including renowned pro-communist figures such as Jean-Paul Sartre and Bertrand Russell. The participants of the conference harshly criticized the anti-Jewish Soviet policy and demanded that the Soviet Union honor human rights. At the same time, during Khrushchev's period, an anti-Soviet atmosphere began spreading throughout Europe due to violation of the rights of the Jews and the rights of all citizens of the state. The Paris Conference intensified this.
After Khrushchev was deposed, there was hope in the West for a change in Soviet policy. In 1966, during the visit of the new Soviet Prime Minister Alexei Kosygin in Paris, he publicly declared: "With regards to family unification, if there are a few families that wish to meet their relatives or leave the Soviet Union – the path before them is open and there is no problem here." Although Kosygin declared this, the obstacles in the path of the Soviet Jews, who wished to reunite with their families in Israel, remained. Over the following two years, about 4,000 Jews were permitted to make Aliya, at a time when there were about 3 million of them there and tens of thousands who wished to come here.
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