B’nai B’rith today affirmed its “continuing and unequivocal” support of the Jackson Amendment, rejecting the view that a “softening” of its provisions would lead to further liberalization of Soviet emigration policies. David M. Blumberg, in a statement here, applauded the actions of Senators Henry M. Jackson (D. Wash.) and Abraham Ribicoff (D. Conn.) who reportedly resisted, in a meeting with Secretary of State Henry A. Kissinger, any weakening of the amendment to the Foreign Trade Bill without firm assurances that emigration would be accelerated.
Urging that the Jewish community “stands fast” in support of the amendment, Blumberg said that “watering down its terms in deference to detente seemingly ignores the USSR’s pragmatic approach to the emigration issue in recent years. The stiffening of American resistance to Soviet denials of a basic human right, as reflected in the Jackson Amendment, has been the persuasive force behind the increases in Soviet emigration and relaxation of the infamous education tax.” the B’nai B’rith president declared.
Citing “past Soviet behavior,” Blumberg challenged the thesis that “granting trade benefits and then hoping–without clear indications of compliance–that the Soviets will be encouraged to initiate a more liberalized emigration policy and an end to the harassments of those who want to leave” was a constructive approach. He called it a “cart-before-the-horse” tactic. The test is Soviet performance,” Blumberg declared. “The fact is that Jewish emigration from the USSR this year is down by 40 percent over the same period last year. Such statistics are hardly reassuring.” he emphasized.
Blumberg’s statement was seen here by some observers as an answer to Jacob Stein, past chairman of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations, who earlier this week urged a reformulation of the Jackson Amendment. (See Daily News Bulletin March 18.) The statement by Blumberg, however, made no mention of Stein.
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.
