Si Frumkin

Re "Survivor of Dachau worked tirelessly to assist Soviet Jews," Obituary, May 18 Thank you for remembering Si Frumkin. A former Soviet Jewish refugee, I met Si in the early 1980s, during the decade that witnessed relentless Soviet Communist onslaught and the subsequent demise of the dysfunctional empire. Si exerted tremendous efforts to help Soviet Jews escape the bleak realities and stark anti-Semitism of the Soviet Union (thus ripping the Iron Curtain his own way), but he was also sympathetic to the cause of freedom throughout the world.

Re "Survivor of Dachau worked tirelessly to assist Soviet Jews," Obituary, May 18 Thank you for remembering Si Frumkin. A former Soviet Jewish refugee, I met Si in the early 1980s, during the decade that witnessed relentless Soviet Communist onslaught and the subsequent demise of the dysfunctional empire. Si exerted tremendous efforts to help Soviet Jews escape the bleak realities and stark anti-Semitism of the Soviet Union (thus ripping the Iron Curtain his own way), but he was also sympathetic to the cause of freedom throughout the world.

Head down, Si Frumkin stood quietly as he was introduced to the group of about 35 affluent mainstream Jews. Although he was, for decades, one of the most relentless and troublesome voices speaking out on behalf of Soviet Jews, few in the room had heard of him. Frumkin mock-winced in embarrassment as the introduction was ended: "Since he retired in 1987, he has been devoting his full life to doing good deeds."

In the late 1960s, as reports of repression of Soviet Jews began to increase, a question began filtering to the West: "Why have you forgotten us?" Si Frumkin, a survivor of Dachau and a prominent Los Angeles textile manufacturer, heard the question and it reminded him of the days before the Holocaust. A man of direct action, Frumkin founded the Southern California Council for Soviet Jews in 1968 and over the next two decades would not leave the issue alone.

In the late 1960s, as reports of repression of Soviet Jews began to increase, a question began filtering to the West: "Why have you forgotten us?" Si Frumkin, a survivor of Dachau and a prominent Los Angeles textile manufacturer, heard the question and it reminded him of the days before the Holocaust. A man of direct action, Frumkin founded the Southern California Council for Soviet Jews in 1968 and over the next two decades would not leave the issue alone.

The Southern California Council for Soviet Jews would do well to find itself another spokesperson other than Si Frumkin. He adds insult to injury, first in castigating the press for deploring the release of tear gas at a performance of the Soviet Moiseyev dancers and then in suggesting that South African blacks somehow or other have it better than Soviet citizens. What an invidious comparison, and how it reeks of a racism quite equivalent to the anti-Semitism Frumkin apparently wants us to see in the press's coverage of an ugly incident.

Eleanor Randolph's column on the grim and sorry lives of Soviet women (Commentary, Nov. 18) had all its facts right but it was completely off in its basic premise. She says that "the Russian women's officially equal status over the last seven decades is disintegrating daily . . . " with the clear implication that the situation is somehow novel, and that, in the past, in the pre- glasnost days, women were better off. Nothing could be further from the truth. The situation today is, if anything, somewhat better than it was in the past, as Soviet women become aware of women's rights movements in the West and begin to speak out for change.

I commend The Times for the articles on the exhibition of Impressionist paintings loaned to us by the Soviet Union. I do, however, object to their being characterized as a "Soviet art exhibit." These paintings were created in France by Frenchmen before World War I, purchased by Russian pre-revolutionary art patrons, and confiscated by the Soviet state after the revolution in 1917. I think that it is important for us to realize that in the 70 years of its existence, the Soviet state has not managed to produce any art--written, painted or sculpted--that is worthy of being exhibited.

The Soviet decree on restoration of citizenship to those who left to live abroad and were stripped of their citizenship might have a major practical consequence, in addition to its obvious humanitarian implications (Part A, Aug. 16). All Soviet Jews who left the country during the last several decades were required to relinquish their citizenship and pay the sum of 500 rubles (about $650 at the official exchange rate) per person. This applied to Jews only--Armenians and others were allowed to leave without losing their citizenship.

The report on the Israeli attempt to force all Soviet Jewish emigrants to go to Israel is very bad news for the 200,000 or so former Soviet Jews living in the United States now. Most of them have relatives in the Soviet Union and most of them have been hoping for many years that those relatives might be given a chance to be reunited with their families in the U.S. This new Israeli policy contravenes both the Helsinki Accords and the U.N. Declaration...

It's a good thing Vincenzo and Maria Paravano of North Hollywood have a sense of humor. Otherwise, they could really give their pharmacist an earful about the directions on one package of medicine (see accompanying). More confusion: Matthew Rule chanced upon a business that didn't know whether it was closing or expanding (see photo).

Eleanor Randolph's column on the grim and sorry lives of Soviet women (Commentary, Nov. 18) had all its facts right but it was completely off in its basic premise. She says that "the Russian women's officially equal status over the last seven decades is disintegrating daily . . . " with the clear implication that the situation is somehow novel, and that, in the past, in the pre- glasnost days, women were better off. Nothing could be further from the truth. The situation today is, if anything, somewhat better than it was in the past, as Soviet women become aware of women's rights movements in the West and begin to speak out for change.

Head down, Si Frumkin stood quietly as he was introduced to the group of about 35 affluent mainstream Jews. Although he was, for decades, one of the most relentless and troublesome voices speaking out on behalf of Soviet Jews, few in the room had heard of him. Frumkin mock-winced in embarrassment as the introduction was ended: "Since he retired in 1987, he has been devoting his full life to doing good deeds."

The Soviet decree on restoration of citizenship to those who left to live abroad and were stripped of their citizenship might have a major practical consequence, in addition to its obvious humanitarian implications (Part A, Aug. 16). All Soviet Jews who left the country during the last several decades were required to relinquish their citizenship and pay the sum of 500 rubles (about $650 at the official exchange rate) per person. This applied to Jews only--Armenians and others were allowed to leave without losing their citizenship.

I agree with Prof. Steven Spiegel's assessment of the critical situation of Jews in the Soviet Union (Op-Ed Page, Feb. 5). I receive, almost on a daily basis, anti-Semitic leaflets that are distributed in the Soviet Union calling for pogroms and the "cleansing of Mother Russia from the Jewish peril." The population is being informed that May 5 has been designated as the day for a major pogrom in Moscow and May 15 in Leningrad. Letters and phone calls from Soviet Jews speak of panic and a mood of despair; there is a feeling that the question is no longer whether Jews will be killed, but rather when.

The report on the Israeli attempt to force all Soviet Jewish emigrants to go to Israel is very bad news for the 200,000 or so former Soviet Jews living in the United States now. Most of them have relatives in the Soviet Union and most of them have been hoping for many years that those relatives might be given a chance to be reunited with their families in the U.S. This new Israeli policy contravenes both the Helsinki Accords and the U.N. Declaration...

As one who has great sympathy for the plight of Russian Jews who are denied emigration, I must protest a letter from Si Frumkin (Sept. 26), which defended "the release of tear gas at the performance of the Moiseyev dancers." I call this an act of terrorism against innocent bystanders and deplore that the anonymous perpetrators aren't caught and punished. Also, it is inconceivable that Frumkin should maintain that South African blacks currently enjoy better rights than Soviet citizens.