Dear Rabbi Lamm, I read with great interest and admiration of your courageous and outspoken demands in behalf of Russian Jewry. Russian propagandists are “running scared” of the cry of oppressed Jews, both inside and outside Russia. Their defiance of “public opinion” is beginning to crack and show signs of weakness. Their resort to so-called statements (pravda, Izvestia) that they don’t want to leave Russia; that they are “pro-Arab” and anti-Israel; that they enjoy “full rights and civil liberties” to freely live as Jews etcetera is as false as it is ridiculous. They are obvious lies, that belie their maker. These falsehoods must be promptly and clearly exposed, whenever and wherever their ugly repetition is made. Our failure to expose them is their aid. Recently, according to the N.Y. Times of April 30th, Georgi Arbatov publicly made these misrepresentations, as the Russian delegate to the “Convocation for Building Peace” in the Middle East, and was not challenged. In effect, what Mr. Arbatov said – “Soviet Jews don’t want to leave Russia”; that “this is a demand of American Jews”; that “American Jews don’t want to go to Israel, but want to persuade Russian Jews to go there”; that if Russian Jews wanted to leave they were free to do so (his statements are paraphrased for brevity). As far as American Jews are concerned, he should have indicated that every Jew who wishes to emigrate or go to Israel has the free right to do so; that regardless of his personal desires, many American Jews feel they can help protect America, and American interests in the Middle East, and Israel, by remaining here, and sending Israel their assistance, financially and otherwise, especially in the “cold war” of Russo-Arab propaganda, as evidenced by the false statements of Mr. Arbatov, that must be fought by American Jews. If there is a scintilla of truth to Mr. Arbatov’s statements, why must Russian Jews carry an “I.D.” card marked “Jew”? Why is it forbidden to support Jewish causes and …

Dear Rabbi Lamm, Receipt is acknowledged of your letter of May 13th. I fully agree with the essence of your "DAYENU" expressions, but disagree with some of the words you used to express them. You as a Rabbi know full well the importance of using accurate words; Pharaoh deceived the Jews by such devices. Lenin's intentions may have been sincere when he wanted to create an artificial "Jewish" nationality. But whatever his intentions, our acceptance of this LIE has plagued us, and it's time we stopped fooling ourselves about a so-called "Jewish Nationality"—even though, as you say, it prevented the complete assimilation of Russian Jewry.You might say the same for Hitler's use of the "Star of David" that he too required Jews to wear. DAYENU!It is not a question of semantics or "just words," it is a question of aiding and permitting our enemies to use the word "Jew" in a false way to persecute JEWS. DAYENU!Those in Russia who desire to emigrate are not "Jewish citizens of Russia." They are Russian citizens of the Jewish faith, or the faith of their ancestors. As citizens of Russia, they are legally and morally entitled to the equal protection of their human and civil rights and liberties to emigrate, as specifically provided in the Human Rights provisions of the United Nations Genocide Treaty that Russia itself signed.Russian Jews—not "Jewish Russians"—made the mistake of permitting Russia to invent an artificial YIDDISH state of Birobidjan, with Yiddish as their so-called national language; where Hebrew was forbidden. But having made that mistake, why are we continuing it? DAYENU!The exigencies of the moment may find it emotionally useful, but the permanent damage by such false use of words is too great. DAYENU!By the same token, we have permitted the world to falsely say that “Jerusalem is EQUALLY holy to all three religions: Christian, Moslem, and Jewish.” Nothing could be more false. But by our failure to expose this lie and challenge such claims of Moslems and Chri…