The Soviet delegation to the United Nations World Youth Assembly today expressed its “solidarity” and “ardent support” of the youth of the Arab states in their struggle against Israel. The pledge was contained in a statement released by the 15-member delegation at a press conference here. The World Youth Assembly, attended by 623 youth from 109 member states, opens officially on Thursday. There is a five-member delegation from Israel and representatives from the World Union of Jewish Students and the World Union for Progressive Judaism. Also attending are two representatives of the General Union of Palestinian Students. Some observers here viewed the Soviet delegation’s statement on the Middle East as relatively mild compared to its slashing attacks on the United States and the Indo-China war. They attributed the mildness to the “delicate” diplomatic situation in which U.S. and Soviet peace proposals for the Mideast are being discussed here. The Soviet statement said, “For three years now the world is being kept in suspense in the Middle East crisis. Its settlement has also become an urgent task for the safeguarding of international peace and security. There is a formulation for the settlement of this crisis. It is the resolution of the United Nations Security Council of Nov. 22, 1967. Condemning Israel’s refusal to comply with this resolution, the Soviet young people express their full solidarity with and ardent support to the young people of the Arab states who are in the front line of the struggle against Israeli aggression.”
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.
