A resolution calling upon the Soviet Union to permit the emigration of Russian Jews to Israel was adopted here last night at the concluding session of the Histadrut council convention. Another resolution sent greetings and encouragement to the 200 Zionists arrested in Rumania. (A report from Paris today said that a trial of Zionist leaders detained in Rumania will begin soon.
In the course of the debate preceding the closing of the parley, Mapam delegate Yaacov Riftin, declared that Israel workers would “never fight against the gigantic cradle of Socialism.” He made this statement in response to a query by a Mapai delegate asking for a “clear” statement of whether the left-wing Mapam party would fight the U.S.S.R. in the event that it invaded Israel.
The council also voted to admit organized Arab workers into the labor exchanges and the health and other social security programs of the Histadrut. However, the Arab unionists will not be admitted into membership in the Histadrut itself. The resolution on the Arab unionists was opposed only by the Communists, who dominate in one of the two largest Arab trade unions.
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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.