Rabbi Alexander M. Schindler, chairman of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations, and Yehuda Hellman, executive director, flew to Rumania Thursday night at the invitation of the Bucharest regime for discussions with government officials and Jewish leaders there. The official invitation came less than a month before Senate hearings on the renewal of most-favored-nation status for Rumania, whose performance on emigration must be certified annually by the President under the Jackson-Vanik Amendment to the 1974 Trade Act.
Schindler said he would discuss the record of Rumanian Jewish emigration in recent months during his meetings with government leaders, Communist Party officials and Jewish community leaders, including Rabbi Moses Rosen. He said the visit had been set following a meeting he and Hellman held with Rumanian Ambassador Nicolai Nicolai in Washington earlier in the week.
The official invitation from Bucharest had been extended through the State Department, in accordance with diplomatic protocol. Schindler and Hellman expect to be in Bucharest for about a week. The Senate hearings on renewal of most-favored-nation status for Rumania are scheduled to begin Sept. 8. Schindler said he would testify at the hearings.
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