Antisemitism in the Soviet Union once again peaked during the rule of
Leonid Brezhnev, following Israeli victory in the 1967
Six-Day War. "Anti-Zionist" propaganda, including the film
Secret and Explicit, was often antisemitic in nature.
[33] Many of Brezhnev's close advisors, most principally
Mikhail Suslov, were also fervent antisemites.
[34] Jewish emigration to Israel and the United States, which had been allowed in limited amounts under the rule of Khrushchev, once more became heavily restricted, primarily due to concerns that Jews were a security liability or treasonous.
[35] Would-be emigrants, or
refuseniks, often required a
vyzov, or special invitation from a relative living abroad, for their application to be even considered by the Soviet authorities. In addition, in order to emigrate, one needed written permission from all immediate family members. The rules were often stretched in order to prevent Jews from leaving, and ability for appeal was rarely permitted. Substantial fees were also required to be paid, both to emigrate and as "reimbursement".
[36]
Institutional racism against Jews was widespread in the Soviet Union under Brezhnev, with many sectors of the government being off-limits.
[37] Following the failure of the
Dymshits–Kuznetsov hijacking affair, in which 12 refuseniks unsuccessfully attempted to hijack a plane and flee west, crackdowns on Jews and the refusenik movement followed. Informal centres for studying the
Hebrew language, the
Torah and Jewish culture were closed.
[38]
Immediately following the
Six-Day War in 1967, the antisemitic conditions started causing desire to emigrate to Israel for many Soviet Jews. A Jewish Ukrainian radio engineer, Boris Kochubievsky, sought to move to
Israel. In a letter to Brezhnev, Kochubievsky stated:
I am a Jew. I want to live in the Jewish state. That is my right, just as it is the rights of a Ukrainian to live in the Ukraine, the right of a Russian to live in Russia, the right of a Georgian to live in Georgia. I want to live in Israel. That is my dream, that is the goal not only of my life but also of the lives of hundreds of generation that preceded me, of my ancestors who were expelled from their land. I want to my children to study in the Hebrew language. I want to read Jewish papers, I want to attend a Jewish theatre. What is wrong with that? What is my crime ...?
[39]
Within the week he was called in to the KGB bureau and without questioning, was taken to a mental institution in his hometown of
Kiev (for more information, see:
Political abuse of psychiatry in the Soviet Union).
[40] While this may seem as an isolated incident, the aftermath of the Six-Day War affected almost every Jew within the Soviet Union.
[40]
