Tekoah, Bush Bolster Drive to Place Soviet Jewish Emigration on Assembly Agenda

The drive to get the Russian emigration issue on the United Nations General Assembly agenda was bolstered yesterday by Israeli Ambassador Yosef Tekoah’s press conference announcement that he had taken up the matter with Secretary General U Thant. Even more encouraging signs emanated from Washington where the office of Rep. John Kemp. New York Republican, released a letter from U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations George Bush expressing his personal belief that the Assembly should take up the question. Tekoah met with Thant to submit to him a letter from 531 Georgian Jews and appealed to Thant to “put on the agenda of the coming session of the UN the question about the situation of those Jews in the USSR who wish to go to Israel, to their historical, national and spiritual homeland.” Coming on the heels of Tekoah’s announcement, the publication of the Bush letter adds another factor to an already complex situation. The Washington office of Kemp told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency that the letter is in reply to a formal request Bush suggested Kemp submit after a meeting they held several weeks ago that the U.S. bring up the Russian emigration policies at the General Assembly session due to begin Sept. 21.

Bush wrote that “people must have a right to leave the country and the United Nations should address itself, in my view, to this important question.” Another passage in the letter says that the United States “has every intention of making a strong presentation in favor of the free movement of people.” The key phrase, political observers here said yesterday, is “in my view,” and added that the letter “was carefully worded,” leading observers to speculate on the possibility of an administration split on the issue. They felt that Bush has been convinced by the many interdenominational demonstrations and sit-ins at the U.S. Mission, and the many personal representations to him from Jewish leaders and political figures that the matter should be brought up. Secretary of State William Rogers, on the other hand, the observers said, wants to ignore the issue in favor of establishing closer relations with the Soviet Union. But, some observers contend that Rogers may decide to allow the issue to be brought up to counterbalance the effect on Jewish public opinion of American cooperation with Jordan to have the Security Council censure Israel for her East Jerusalem policies.