The question of the treatment of the Jews in the Soviet Union was posed here last night to Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev by top leaders of the American Federation of Labor–Congress of Industrial Organizations during a dinner-meeting which they held with Mr. Khrushchev, it was revealed here today by Walter P. Reuther, president of the United Auto Workers, who arranged the meeting.
The question on the Jews was one of 12 major questions presented to Premier Khrushchev in writing at the dinner. It received no reply from the Premier because the time did not permit a debate on it, as well as on the question of political prisoners in the Soviet Union and Hungary. The text of the question on the Jews reads.
“American labor regards religious, political, ethnic and national equality as one of the paramount freedoms in a democratic society and a democratic world. We are deeply concerned by the information which has been brought to our attention that Jews in the Soviet Union are being discriminated against and are being denied equal opportunities in education, government and other phases of Soviet life.
“While American labor is fully aware of the shortcomings of American democracy with respect to civil rights, we have made great progress in this area and labor and other liberal groups are free to continue their efforts to eliminate all forms of discrimination.
“We propose to ask Mr. Khrushchev what the Soviet Union is doing or intends to do to end this type of discrimination and what the individual Soviet citizen can do to protest and work against such discrimination within the Soviet Union.”
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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.
