The Paris Radio reported today that Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev, speaking at a public gathering in an unnamed provincial city in the Soviet Union, declared that every Jew in the USSR desiring to emigrate from the country will be permitted to do so.
The Paris Radio also reported from Beirut that the statement made by Mr. Khrushchev to visiting American war veterans that he is playing with the idea to permit “in the future” the emigration of all those in the Soviet Union who would like to leave the country will be considered by the Arab League at a conference called for the purpose of discussing means to prevent Jewish emigration to Israel. Participating in the conference will be Morocco, the United Arab Republic, Jordan, Lebanon and Saudi Arabia.
A report from Cairo in the press today said that the Secretary General of the Arab League has asked the Soviet Ambassador in Cairo for “clarification” of Khrushchev’s statement to the American war veteran. (In Israel, Prime Minister David Ben Gurion, commenting on Khrushchev’s statement said that although the Soviet Premier did mention the exact time when emigration from Russia would be permitted, “I hope he did not mean this would happen in the Messiah’s days.”)
JTA has documented Jewish history in real-time for over a century. Keep our journalism strong by joining us in supporting independent, award-winning reporting.
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.