Shultz: Release of Daniloff and Pending Release of Orlov Are Sign of Hope for Soviet Jewry

Secretary of State George Shultz said the release Monday of American journalist Nicholas Daniloff in Moscow and the scheduled release of Soviet dissident Yuri Orlov are signs of hope for Soviet Jewry.

“An American journalist and a Soviet dissident — these are living symbols of our commitment,” Schultz said in reference to thousands of remaining dissidents in the Soviet Union.

Schultz, speaking Tuesday night at a tenth anniversary gala of the Jewish Community Relations Council of New York (JCRC), called the release of Daniloff and Orlov a “testament to the universality of our concern with human rights.” He failed any mention of the simultaneous release in New York of accused Soviet spy Gennadi Zakharov.

Both the Daniloff ordeal and the continued detention of dissidents have increased tensions between the East and the West, according to Schultz, and threaten global security. “Security and justice are indivisible,” Shultz said. “You can’t abrogate one without diminishing the other.”

Continuing with his concern about security, Schultz called for a coordinated response against terrorism, and added that a strong Israel contributes to worldwide security.

Attorney General Edwin Meese, who also addressed the JCRC celebration, urged people to “remain vigilant to combat terrorists.” Meese, who was recently in Israel, described witnessing at first hand a mock demonstration by the Israeli military on how to fight terrorism. He said he was extremely impressed by the methods the Israelis employed to respond to a terrorist attack.

Malcolm Hoenlein, the founding executive director of the JCRC, was presented with the Jack D. Weiler Prize for Jewish Communal Service. Hoenlein was named last June executive director of the Conference of Major American Jewish Organizations.