Text of the statement issued by three national Jewish leaders: “Leaders of the American Jewish community met today with president Nixon and Dr. Henry Kissinger at the White House for one hour and ten minutes. Dr. Kissinger read documents received from the Soviet leadership which indicated that the recent Soviet policy of waiving payment of the education tax on academics desiring to emigrate would be continued without any time limit.
“We asked the help of the President for the over 100,000 Soviet Jews who have applied for exit visas, have not yet received them and have suffered the loss of jobs, pensions and apartments. We stressed the fact that scores of Jews languish in Soviet prisons-for the crime of merely requesting an exit visa.
“We reaffirmed our commitment to Soviet Jews and our determination to continue maximum efforts in their behalf. We expressed our sincere appreciation to the President for the meeting which we regarded as a historic event. The President reaffirmed his concern for the plight of Soviet Jews and pledged his continuing personal efforts on their behalf.”
The statement was signed by Max Fisher of Detroit, past president of the Council of Jewish Federations and Welfare Funds; Jacob Stein of New York, chairman of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations; and Mrs. Charlotte Jacobson of New York vice-chairman of the National Conference on Soviet Jewry.
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.
