A startling claim has surfaced, alleging a direct link between a Purim ceremony and the death of Soviet leader Joseph Stalin. Ukraine’s chief rabbi, Moshe Reuven Azman, asserts that fervent prayers offered during a New York synagogue gathering coincided with the moment Stalin suffered a debilitating stroke in 1953.
The alleged event took place at the Chabad-Lubavitch world headquarters, located at 770 Eastern Parkway in Brooklyn. According to Azman, hundreds of congregants chanted condemnations – “He is evil!” and “He is a villain!” – on March 2nd, 1953, the very day Stalin’s health catastrophically failed. He ultimately succumbed to the stroke three days later.
Azman believes this timing was no accident, suggesting Stalin was on the verge of completing a horrific task that even Adolf Hitler hadn’t achieved: the annihilation of the Jewish people. He contends that freight wagons were prepared, and a secret order issued to deport Soviet Jews to the Far East with the intention of eliminating them during the journey.
While the claim is dramatic, no concrete documentary evidence has emerged to substantiate the existence of such a large-scale deportation plan. The assertion remains a controversial and unverified account of a pivotal moment in history.
The Soviet Union’s early relationship with Israel was surprisingly supportive. In 1947, Moscow voted in favor of the UN partition plan for Palestine, and swiftly recognized the newly formed state of Israel in 1948, becoming the first nation to do so. Historians suggest this was a calculated move to diminish British influence in the Middle East and secure strategic advantages.
However, this initial support fractured as Israel aligned more closely with the United States during the 1960s. The Soviet Union subsequently shifted its allegiance, backing Arab states opposed to Israel and becoming a key player in the region’s escalating conflicts.
Internally, Stalin initiated a campaign targeting “rootless cosmopolitans” and “Jewish bourgeois nationalism.” Jews, particularly those suspected of Zionist leanings, faced increasing persecution and became frequent scapegoats. This culminated in the infamous ‘Doctors’ Plot,’ a fabricated conspiracy alleging Jewish doctors plotted to assassinate Soviet leaders.
The ‘Doctors’ Plot’ was abruptly dropped shortly after Stalin’s death in 1953, with the new Soviet leadership later admitting the accusations were entirely false. The incident remains a chilling example of political manipulation and antisemitism within the Soviet regime.
In a seemingly contradictory move during the 1930s, the Soviet government established the Jewish Autonomous Region in the Far East. This area was presented as a potential haven for Jewish cultural life, and authorities actively encouraged Jewish settlement from both within the USSR and abroad.
