Eban Vows Israel Will Continue to Fight for Right of Soviet Jews to Emigrate

Foreign Minister Abba Eban stated in the Knesset this afternoon that Israel would continue to fight for the right of Soviet Jews to emigrate. The plight of Soviet Jewry will not be allowed to pass from the consciousness of the people of Israel, he said. Eban was answering an agenda motion presented by five parties, to debate the trial of Lieutenant Wolf Zalmanson and the oppression of Soviet Jews. After his reply the Knesset agreed to refer the matter to the Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee. The pro-Moscow Rakach Communists were absent. In presenting the motion, S. Z. Abramov of Gahal said Israel should consider the problem of Soviet Jewry as a general problem. Shalom Cohen of Haolam Haseh said the establishment of peace would facilitate a solution. Aryeh Shostak of the Free Center suggested that a permanent framework be established in Israel to deal with the problem of Soviet Jewry. Rabbi Zvi Moshe Neriya of the National Religious Party said that all circles of the population must show a sense of responsibility. Mordechai Surkkis of the Labor Alignment said Israel must shake the conscience of the world to enlist its aid in the rescue of Soviet Jewry.