Jewish Protesters Conduct Vigil Outside Soviet Embassy While Gromyko is There

A contingent representing 27 Jewish organizations concluded a public meeting today at the new West End Synagogue which was co-sponsored by the Board of Deputies and 27 groups and marched to the Soviet Embassy to deliver a letter to Soviet Foreign Minister Andrei Gromyko. The letter, written by the Board of Deputies, expressed the “concern and alarm” of the Anglo-Jewish community over the “wave of arrests being carried out against Soviet Jews who have applied to emigrate to Israel.” The Universities Committee for Soviet Jewry conducted a torchlight meeting tonight outside the Soviet Embassy to protest the treatment of Soviet Jews. At the same time, Britain’s Foreign Secretary Sir Alec Douglas-Home was inside the Embassy attending a reception given by the Soviet ambassador in honor of Mr. Gromyko. The Universities Committee later continued its vigil outside 10 Downing Street, the official residence of the British Prime Minister.