Jewish Labor Committee to Hold a Conference in Support of Soviet Jewry

The Jewish Labor Committee has scheduled a Labor Conference In Support of Soviet Jewry on May 4 in the Hotel New Yorker, Charles S. Zimmerman, president of the Jewish Labor Committee announced today. He said the conference is being held as response to the Soviet Union’s increasingly virulent anti-Jewish campaign. “The pro-Soviet and anti-Israel statements made recently by some Russian Jews in a staged press conference in the USSR are painfully reminiscent of the ‘confessions’ extracted in the past highly publicized trials of Russian leaders who fell afoul of Stalin. No knowledgeable person is deceived by these statements.” David Ashe, chairman of the Committee on Soviet Jewry, declared: “Our protests are necessary. Our voice must be heard. We must demand that Soviet Jews should have cultural and religious freedom. We must demand that Russian Jews should be free from discrimination and oppression; the anti-Jewish campaign must come to an end. We must demand that Russian Jews, if they so desire, shall have the right to emigrate.” Among those addressing the conference will be Henoch Mendelsund, vice-president International Ladies Garment Workers Union; Bayard Rustin, Executive Director. A. Philip Randolph Institute; Albert Shanker. President, United Federation of Teachers; Emanuel Muravchik. JLC Executive Director; Mr. Zimmerman and Mr. Ashe.