Dr. Nahum Goldmann, president of the World Jewish Congress, sent a message to Yosef Almogi, chairman of the World Zionist Organization Executive and chairman of the Second World Conference on Soviet Jewry, expressing his best wishes for the success of the gathering. Goldmann stated that although he personally will not be able to attend, the WJC will be represented by a large delegation headed by Philip M. Klutznick, chairman of the WJC governing board.
“The conference meets at a crucial period of world history, when great efforts are being made everywhere to reduce tensions between the nations of the world,” Goldmann said in his message. “One essential element in these efforts is the realization of the need for universal respect for human rights and human dignity. Regrettably, this spirit has not yet expressed itself in the treatment of the Jewish people at large and particularly of the Jewish minority of the Soviet Union. They still do not enjoy the right of free emigration and the right of free pursuit of their religious life and national culture.
“I am confident that a statesmanlike conduct of the Brussels conference, under your chairmanship will help to draw attention to these problems and place them high on the agenda of current world concern.”
The importance of the conference, Goldmann continued, is already apparent from the campaigns conducted against it. “I hope that nothing will allow us to have the unity of the Jewish people disturbed in our unceasing endeavors for the better life of our brethren in the USSR who represent nearly one-fourth of the Jewish people,” he stated.
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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.
