In the light of the changes “however small” which apparently are taking place in the Soviet Union regarding its policies toward the Jews there, the head of the Rabbinical Council of America called today for an international conference of Jewish leaders to reassess the situation and chart a new course in behalf of Soviet Jewry.
Rabbi Pesach Z. Levovitz, president of the Council, an Orthodox body, told the 500 delegates at the opening session of his organization’s special religious convocation here that one of the most hopeful signs, which the world conference would be asked to assess, is Soviet Premier Kosygin’s recent promise that emigration would be allowed for the purpose of reuniting families.
Rabbi Levovitz told the convocation that the world conference, which should be held “as soon as possible,” probably in Geneva, should consist of such organizations as the American Jewish Conference on Soviet Jewry, the British and South African Boards of Jewish Deputies, the Consistoire Generale and other interested organizations in France, and similar organizations elsewhere in Europe and America.
Rabbi Joseph Karasick, national president of the Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations of America, addressing the dinner session of the convocation last night, called on President Johnson to issue a declaration “guaranteeing the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Israel, and to invite the Arab states to join with Israel in a peace effort which will benefit the entire region.”
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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.
