Dr. Nahum Goldmann, president of the World Jewish Congress, said here yesterday that the Soviet Union was interested in establishing unofficial ties with Israel prior to any peace settlement with the Arab countries and might agree to resume formal diplomatic relations if sufficient progress toward a Middle East peace was made at the Geneva conference. Dr. Goldmann, addressing a press conference, urged Israel to reach a peace accord with the Arabs as soon as possible because, in his view, time is working in the Arabs’ favor.
Dr. Goldmann did not name the sources of his information on the alleged intentions of the Soviet Union, He observed, however, that Moscow was interested in preserving Israel’s existence to prevent the Arab states from swinging toward the U.S. He said he had a standing invitation to visit the USSR but would go there only if he is assured of meetings with top Kremlin leaders and guaranteed that his visit would lead to positive developments for Soviet Jews.
Dr. Goldmann said the time factor favored the Arabs because their influence and power was Increasing, not only on the oil level but in the economic sphere throughout the world. He said the Arabs were investing billions of dollars in the U.S. and Europe, have control over large public relations offices and were engaging the services of political scientists as advisors.
EXPLAINS SHIFT OF WJC MEETING SITE
Dr. Goldmann referred to the forthcoming Plenary Assembly of the WJC which was to have been held in Holland last month but was cancelled for security reasons. A controversy developed over the choice of an alternate site, with many Zionists threatening to boycott the meeting unless it was held in Israel. Dr. Goldmann said today, however, that the nature of the “Plenary Assembly” precluded Israel.
He said that some delegations from Eastern Europe who might be permitted by their governments to attend a Jewish gathering elsewhere would not be allowed to go to Israel. Christian clergymen invited to take part in a symposium on the Church and Judaism may not want to go to Israel because of the political implications, Dr. Goldmann said, and similarly guests from “Third World” countries that have no diplomatic relations with Israel would not come. He said the WJC was maintaining contact with “Third World” figures and that relations between Judaism and the “Third World” was scheduled to be a symposium topic at the Plenary Assembly.
Dr. Goldmann suggested Washington, D.C. as a site for the gathering and said the best time would be next Dec, when the U.S. Congress is in recess.
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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.
