The sixteenth plenary session of the South American Executive of the World Jewish Congress denounced today the “unfounded and libelous charges” by Polish Communist leaders and press accusing “Jews and Zionists” of instigating the current political unrest among Polish university students.
The delegates said it was “inconceivable” that the Polish Government allowed exploitation of the “remnant” of Polish Jewry which survived the Nazi holocaust as the victim for internal problems. They assailed the regime for failing to denounce efforts to revive the traditional anti-Semitism of reactionary forces in Poland. The session gave full support to fears voiced last week by Dr. Nahum Goldmann over the dangers posed by the government campaign for the few remaining Jews in Poland and by encouraging similar campaigns in other countries. The delegates said that under these circumstances it was “absolutely impossible” for Jewish communities to be represented at the memorial service scheduled at the Auschwitz pavilion on April 20.
In another resolution, the delegates called on the Federal Republic of West Germany to cancel the statute of limitations on Nazi war crimes and crimes against humanity which is scheduled to go into effect in 1969. The delegates also declared their observance of International Human Rights Year proclaimed by the United Nations General Assembly and called on all Latin American communities to associate themselves with it.
The plenary session scheduled a fifth conference of Latin American Jewish communities to take place in the latter half of October.
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.
