Dr. Goldmann: Solution of Mideast Conflict Will Aid Soviet Jewish Immigration

Dr. Nahum Goldmann, president of the World Jewish Congress, predicted tonight that Soviet Russia would permit the mass emigration of Jews to Israel following a solution of the Middle East conflict. Dr. Goldmann, addressing the annual meeting of the Synagogue Council of America, also warned that Soviet intervention in the Middle East has made the Arab-Israel conflict more explosive than ever. He said, “The world Jewish community must be prepared to stand with Israel and support her cause even in the face of possible opposition and declining sympathy by non-Jews.” Focusing on Soviet Jewry, he declared that no improvement can be expected as long as Soviet Russia remains antagonistic to Israel and as long as the Arab-Israel conflict remains unsettled. “In the meantime, the Jewish community of the free world must see to it that the problem of Soviet Jewry remains a major concern of world public opinion,” Dr. Goldmann said. Dealing with Jewish survival, he said that “Growing alienation among large segments of the younger Jewish generation and among Jewish intellectuals poses the most significant and the most difficult problem in Jewish life today.” The task of surmounting this alienation must be given the highest priority in Jewish life, along with relief problems and social issues, if there is to be a Jewish future. Rabbi Solomon J. Sharfman was re-elected president of the Synagogue Council at the meeting.