U.S. Officials to Address Jewish Parley on Middle East Issues

Officials of the State Department and other United States Government agencies concerned with developments in the Middle East will address several hundred top leaders and community representatives of American Jewry, at an extraordinary conference in Washington on March 5 and 6, it was announced here today.

The conference, called to discuss current developments and future U. S. policy in the Middle East and to evaluate America’s relationship with Israel and the Middle East during the past six and one-half years, will be attended by delegations representing the major American Jewish organizations concerned with every important phase of Jewish communal life in this country. In addition to the delegates, 100 prominent American Jews from nearly every state in the Union will attend the conference on an “a persona” basis.

The conference is being convened as a result of growing uneasiness on the part of many American Jews and friends of Israel over recent events in the Middle East and certain U. S. policies there. It is the outgrowth of meetings of the presidents of leading American Jewish organizations, initiated by Dr. Nahum Goldmann, chairman of the Jewish Agency, and held periodically during the past year. This group of leaders has on several occasions already intervened with the U. S. Government on behalf of Israel.

The conference will open Saturday evening, March 5, and extend through Sunday, March 6. Each session will be addressed by American government officials and by members of the Israel diplomatic corps in Washington, followed by questions from the floor. On the basis of what transpires, the conference expects to work out and submit a viable program for U. S. policy in the Middle East in keeping with American best interests and insuring the security of Israel. The conference will be the first of its kind and scope to be held on the American Jewish scene since Israel’s independence nearly seven years ago.