I hope to prevent other American communities from finding themselves unwitting participants in the denial of basic human rights. When the Bolshoi was scheduled to perform at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles. the Jewish Federation Councils Commission on Soviet Jewry arranged to pay for a full page advertisement in the ballet program. Also. ads were taken out by others calling attention to the availability of Alexandr Solzhenitzyns book. "The Gulag Archipelago." and the forthcoming appearance of Russian refugee dancers. the Panovs. in San Francisco. The Jewish Federation Council ad was courteous. sensitive. and tasteful. More than half the page was devoted to the word "Shalom" in Hebrew. and the statement "Welcome to the Bolshoi Ballet." Of course. the ad was intended to convey more than a simple welcome. The text went on to say: We find it hard to reconcile the beauty of the ballet with the repression of culture and freedom. Both are products of the U.S.S.R. The ad further protested Soviet treatment of Jews and. especially. the baners set up by the Soviet Government to block Jews who wish to emigrate. The ad concluded by urging readers to write or send the advertisement to the Russian Embassy in Washington. The Jewish Federation Council ad. along with the ad for the Solzhenitzyn book and the Panov recital. were all paid for and printed.
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