In 1965 Isi published a study entitled “Soviet Jewry and Human Rights” based on Soviet sources which documented state sponsored anti-Semitism and outlined the denial of human rights to Soviet Jews. It achieved international prominence primarily because the editor of the Australian Communist Party newspaper contributed a preface endorsing the central theme and urging the Soviets to review their policies.
The Australian Communist Party split over the issue. This ignited a fierce global debate among Jewish communists and fellow travelers who until then had slavishly denied or apologized for Soviet anti-Semitism.
