For the first time in the history of Soviet Russia, diplomatic representatives of the Soviet Government arrived here today to address a Jewish gathering. The conference, called by the Palestine League to Aid Russia, was opened this afternoon by Dr. Shlomo Kaplanski, leader of the Histadruth, in the presence of 400 delegates coming from all parts of Palestine.
The Soviet official delegation is composed of the first secretary of the Soviet Embassy in Ankara and the press attache of the embassy. The two Russian representatives visited a Jewish colony on their way from Haifa and listened with great interest to the description given by the settlers of the development of the settlement, which is conducted on “lines identical with those of the collective settlements in Russia.
Impressed by the warm reception given to them by the settlers, Petronko, the first secretary of the embassy, concluded his address with the Hebrew word “Shalom Chaverim.” He voiced the hope that the Jewish colonists would realize the Jewish colonization idea of Palestine “in your own way.” In Tel Aviv the two Russian diplomats visited at the headquarters of the Histadruth.
The conference sessions are being conducted in Hebrew. At a press conference preceding the opening session, the leaders of the League described the organization as a non-partisan body open to all regardless of race, religion and political opinions. “The League is based on Zionist conceptions aiming at a rapprochement between the Yishuv and Russia and the rendering of maximum assistance to the Russian heroic struggle against Fascism,” a statement issued by the secretariat at the press conference declared.
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.
