Israel Observes Solidarity Day

A day of solidarity with Soviet Jews was observed all over Israel today as tens of thousands of Jews and non-Jews participated in similar demonstrations throughout the free world. President Ephraim Katzir set the tone this evening in an address to a rally at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem where he urged Soviet authorities to discontinue the persecution of Jews who apply for exit visas. “We are witnessing, by coercion, a limitation on exit permits issued to Jews which has resulted in a large and significant drop in Jewish emigration from Russia in recent months,” President Katzir said.

At the Wise Auditorium in Tel Aviv, a capacity audience was addressed by S.Z.Abramoff, a Knesset member and chairman of the Public Committee for Russian Jewry. He shared the platform with two recent immigrants from the USSR, Silva Zalmanson and Yevgeny Levitch. Students at Tel Aviv University held a rally of their own to express solidarity with the Jews of Russia.

A letter from the family of activist Vladimir Slepak in Moscow was read. it said, in part: “To day, the 13th of April, is the fifth anniversary of our first request for a permit to emigrate and we are still denied the desired permit.” Telephone calls received from the Soviet Union indicated that many Russian Jews were on hunger strikes today. With hopes fading for relief through such means as the Jackson Amendment, Soviet Jews apparently have decided to resume their struggle for visas publicly.

Continued from P. 1, Col. 2) tee today, issued a statement saying that it had heard reports from Premier Yitzhak Rabin, Allon and Defense Minister Shimon Peres but that no new decisions were taken, The implication was that Israel’s offers of various options to Egypt remain open.

CAN FEEL U.S. PRESSURE

Allon admitted that he could “feel the signs of some kind of pressure upon us” from the U.S. but he stressed that there was no crisis in relations between Jerusalem and Washington. He said, however, that there were differences of opinion, some of them sharp. Allon will meet with British Prime Minister Harold Wilson in London tomorrow before proceeding to the U.S.

Although the Cabinet unanimously approved his trip, there were reports today that some ministers questioned its wisdom and felt that Allon was in effect imposing himself on the Secretary of State. These feelings apparently arose from reports from Washington over the weekend that State Department spokesman had said that the visit was initiated by Israel rather than by the U.S.

Israeli spokesmen, including Allon and Ambassador Simcha Dinitz, insist that Kissinger proposed the meeting when he was informed by Dinitz that the Israeli Foreign Minister was coming to the U.S. for a speaking tour on behalf of the UJA. According to officials here, when Kissinger learned of the visit, he told Dinitz, “Let us get together.” Dinitz suggested that the meeting with Allon be held in New York but Kissinger insisted that Allon come to Washington, giving their meeting a more official stamp, the officials said.

The Allon visit to Washington has been bitterly criticized by the Likud opposition. Premier Rabin will reply to Likud at a special recess session of the Knesset tomorrow.