Call for Washington Parley on Soviet Jews Evokes High Interest

The decision by 24 major national American Jewish organizations to call a two day extraordinary conference in Washington for the purpose of expressing the growing concern of American Jewry of the treatment of the Jews in the Soviet Union has evoked great interest in the Jewish communities throughout the country, according to reports reaching here today.

The conference–to be held in Washington on April 5 and 6 – is expected to draw Jewish organizational and communal leadership from communities in all parts of the United States. Eighteen of the 24 organizations sponsoring the Washington parley are affiliated with the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations which is also one of the sponsors. The range of the organization calling the conference is indicative of the extent to which concern about Soviet anti-Jewish discrimination is shared by all segments of American Jewry.

The 24 co-sponsoring organizations are: American Jewish Committee, American Jewish Congress, American Israel Public Affairs Committee, American Trade Union Council for Histadrut, American Zionist Council, B’nai B’rith, Central Conference of American Rabbis, Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations, Hadassah, Jewish Agency for Israel–American Section, Jewish Labor Committee, Jewish War Veterans of the United States of America, Labor Zionist Movement.

Also, Mizrachi-Hapoel Hamizrachi, National Community Relations Advisory Council, National Council of Jewish Women, National Council of Young Israel. Rabbinical Assembly, Rabbinical Council of America, Synagogue Council of America, Union or American Hebrew Congregations, Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations of America, United Synagogue of America, and the Zionist Organization of America.