World Jewry will not relent in its determination to bring Soviet Jewry back into its councils, Dr. Nahum Goldmann, president of the World Jewish Congress, today told the opening session here of the five-day meeting of the WJC executive Dr. Goldmann expressed satisfaction that for the first time in many years representatives from Hungary and Poland–the latter in the status of observers–were participating in a meeting of the executive.
The WJC. its president said, had never given up hope that the representatives of Eastern Europe’s Jewries would be able to resume cooperation with the Congress and the Jewish communities of the world. “As long as the cold war goes on the World Jewish Congress must continue its efforts to maintain a minimum of contact and unity between the Jewish communities in the two camps,” he said. “We have tried to reestablish this unity for years.
“We are happy,” Dr. Goldmann continued, “that we succeeded in bringing back into the fold of the Congress the Hungarian Jewish community, that we have for the first time in many years delegates from Hungary, and at least observers from Poland, and we hope that time is not far away when other Jewish Communities of Eastern Europe, still absent at this session, will be with us again and try–despite many differences and ideological conflicts–to find a common basis for cooperation and understanding as parts of the same Jewish people.”
This refers naturally also to the major Jewish community in Eastern Europe, the Jew of the Soviet Union,” Dr. Goldmann stressed. “However difficult it may be to convince the leaders of the USSR that they should grant the possibility of establishing contact with world Jewry to the Jewish community in their country, we will not relent in our efforts to achieve it.”
The world Jewish leader noted that “nobody can tell how long it may take and what the chances are. But it is of such tremendous importance for the future of the Jewish people that nobody has the right to despair and give up hope that the day will come when the voice of Soviet Jewry will be heard in the international councils and the Jewish people will welcome this great Jewish community back into its active fold.”
Turning to the Middle East, Dr. Goldmann declared: “The cold war has led to the rearming of the Arab states by the two blocs, encouraged Arab extremism, and given the Arab states the possibility of playing each of the two blocs against the other. It has made Israel’s position more difficult than it would otherwise be.
“Only an understanding between the two blocs with regard to the Middle East which would deprive the Arab states of the hope that one of them may succeed with the help or acquiescence of one of the blocs in any attempt to eradicate Israel will create the atmosphere and basis for Arab willingness to accept the fait accompli of Israel’s existence as a sovereign state,” Dr. Goldmann stated.
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