Jewish Leaders from 38 Countries to Participate in Zurich Parley

Leaders of Jewish communities and organizations in 38 countries, speaking for 7,500,000 Jews, will participate in the three-day world-wide Jewish Emergency Conference called by the Jewish Agency for the purpose of evaluating the situation of the Jews in the countries behind the Iron Curtain and planning measures to alleviate their plight, it was announced here today. The conference will open on March 10th in Zurieh.

The announcement, issued by the American headquarters of the Jewish Agency, emphasized that “the conference was convened as a result of world Jewry’s alarm for the security of Jews in Iron Curtain lands, in view of the current campaign of vilification and slander against the Jewish people, the State of Israel and the Zionist movement conducted by the officially controlled press and radio of the USSR and her allies and the dubious proceedings in their courts.”

The conference will study and coordinate authoritative reports concerning the plight of Jews in the Communist countries, on the basis of which it will determine the joint action to be taken on their behalf. It will also consider the threat to Israel implicit in the Soviet anti-Semitic campaign and its portent for Jews and other peace and freedom-loving people throughout the world.

Invitations to the conference have been accepted by Jewish communities and organisations in Algeria, Argentina, Austria, Brazil, Canada, Colombia, Cuba, France, Great Britain, Holland, Italy, Luxemburg, Morocco, Norway, Portugal, Rhodesia, Switzerland, Tunisia, United States, Yugoslavia, and other lands. A number of American Jewish leaders left for Europe today to participate in the conference. They included Mrs. Rose Halprin, acting chairman of the American section of the Agency, and Dr. Israel Goldstein, president of the American Jewish Congress.