Ceasar Chavez, head of the United Farm Workers Union, pledged here today that its members “will continue to seek freedom for every Jew, especially the three million Jews in the Soviet Union.” Chavez, who led the struggle to get union recognition for California’s itinerant grape-pickers, spoke at the 51st general assembly of the Union of American Hebrew Congregations.
He received a standing ovation when he declared: “Without the help of Reform Jews and other Jewish communities in the US and Canada, where we received some of our greatest support, we would not have been able to succeed in our five-year struggle for migrant grape pickers.” Asked later if he favored boycotts in the cause of Soviet Jews, Chavez said such action might be useful in achieving causes for justice but its value must be determined by each individual group.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
