Members of the Student Struggle for Soviet Jewry threatened yesterday to picket Monsieur Henri Ltd., a leading wine and liquor importer and certain “selected merchants” if the firm decides to market Russian vodka in the U.S. Members of the SSSJ distributed leaflets outside the St. Moritz Hotel where Monsieur Henri officials were meeting with Soviet trade representatives to discuss an import deal. The leaflets claimed that Soviet Jews wishing to go to Israel lost their jobs and were the objects of threats and harassment of their children in schools. “Vodka, as the Russian National Liquor, should be symbolic of good cheer between peoples,” the leaflets stated. “Unfortunately, observing the situation of Soviet Jews, we as young Jews of the free world cannot feel cheerful.” Addressing itself to Monsieur Henri, the leaflets said, “We cannot agree that ‘business as usual’ takes precedence over human rights. Regretfully, we reserve to ourselves the option at a later stage to engage in the legal picketing of Monsieur Henri wines and of selected merchants.”
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