Dr. Nahum Goldmann, president of the World Jewish Congress, declared today that the Soviet Government has no right to deny the rights of its Jewish citizens because it disapproves of the policies of the Israel Government. He denounced “the current violent anti-Israel, anti-Zionist campaign organized by Soviet authorities” who are using “Soviet Jews to deny the plight of their community and to denounce Israel.” In a statement issued here. Dr. Goldmann said, “In the name of Jewish communities in 65 countries, the World Jewish Congress strongly rejects the contention that the curtailment of the freedom of Jewish citizens in any country–in this case the freedom of emigration of Soviet Jews–can be justified by any acts of policy of the sovereign State of Israel.”
The statement continued, “The desire of Soviet Jews to emigrate to Israel in order to live a full Jewish life and fulfill their national, spiritual and cultural aspirations, or who wish to be re-united with their kinsfolk abroad, stems from its tragic history of Jewish dispersion and persecution and is in accord with the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Many Jews in the USSR have courageously asserted this desire, and world Jewry will not cease to demand from the Soviet authorities the implementation of the right of emigration and the granting of facilities for Jewish religious, cultural and communal life in the Soviet Union.” Dr. Goldmann asserted that the current anti-Israel campaign “is the most convincing confirmation of the desire of a large number of the three million Jews in the Soviet Union to emigrate to Israel.”
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.
