LETTER TO HONORABLE J. W. FULBRIGHT FROM MARSHALL S. CARTER

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP80B01676R000300110039-7
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 2
• Document Creation Date: December 14, 2016
• Document Release Date: March 7, 2003
• Sequence Number: 39
• Publication Date: April 23, 1965
• Content Type: LETTER

Approved. For Release 2003/05/05 : CIA-RDP80BO1676R0003001.10039-7 --
Honorable J. W. Fulbright
Chairman
Committee an Foreign Relations
United States Senate
Washington,. 0. C. 20514
23 APR 1963
Dear Mr. , hairmam
1 at,.. writing you in response to your recent
request for the
A;gea is views on S. Con. Hares. 17, expressing the se se of the
Congress that Soviet persecution of Jews a other poreeas because
of their religion be condemned.
While it would not be appropriate (or this Agency to comment
on the propriety of Congressional enactment of this resolution. we
are plasoed 96 provide the Committee with some factual information
which tbCon mittete might find useful.
In the past year. there have been signs that the Soviet regime
I. concerned to improve its public brags by gestures a sieolated to
"disprove" charges of anti-Isswitism in the Soviet Ualon. This trend
wa apparent well before Xhrushchev's ouster in October 1964 and had
hued "der the new Lesdorship. The Jewish community in Minsk,
a city visited frequently by western tourists, was granted unusual
permission last fall to purchase alternate quarters when their old
s ynagogue-die torn down to make way for a housing development.
Approved For Release 2003/05/05 : CIA-RDP80B01676R0003001-10039-7
 Approved For Release 2003/05/05 : CIA-RDP80BO1676R000300110039-7
The toss caanpslg et concerning economic crimes, in which
se we were often the accused. has been signi#i,esntly reduced. Two
Jews convicted of economic crix .es last year have been officially
exonerated, with doe publicity accorded their cases in the central
press. There have also been announcements of plans to increase
publication of Soviet authors who write in the Yiddish language, and
a Russian-Yiddish dictionary has been promised for later this year.
The superficiality of the.. gestures is suggested, however,
by the fact that a western correspondent was able to fled only ons
bookstore in the city of Moscow which had received any copies of a
recently announced collsctttcn of Yiddish press, and it had received
only 90 copies. There are an estimated 500, 000 Jews is Moscow.
Along with all otbor religious. J,e-daism continue* to be a
target in the anti-religloss cani"ign, antanti- critic articles
sporadically appear in the provincial pre=ss under the VAs* of atheist
propaganda. Jews or* still the may officiall=y recognised national
minority in the Soviet Union lacking their own scboni* newspapers,
publishing bons**. and parr a theaters.
I hope that this inform atiou will be of help to the Coamitttee
is its consideration at S. Can. Res. 17.
The bureauof the budget has advised it has no objection to the
submission*( this report from the standpoint of the AAhnixistration's
program.
Marshall S. Carter
Lieutenant General, USA
Acting Director
Distribution:
Orig and 1 Addressee
1-DCI
1 .- DDCI
, -ER
1 - DD/I 1 .- Leg. Counsel w/basic
STAT
Deputy =rector Intelligence
1~
CONCUR:
Rewritten: OGC/LC/LLM:rm (5 April 1965)
Approved For Release 2003/05/05 CIA-RDP80BO1676R000300110039-7