Premier Shimon Peres called on the United States and the Soviet Union today to give at least as much attention to humane issues at the Geneva summit, beginning tomorrow, as to their own national interests.
In an impassioned speech to the Knesset on behalf of Soviet Jews denied the right to emigrate, Peres appealed to President Reagan and Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev to address these concerns.
“Tomorrow millions of people will turn their eyes to Geneva in the hope that the leaders of the two superpowers will place on their agenda humane items as well, and not just their own self-evident national interests,” Peres declared.
In that context, he said, “I call on the leaders of the Soviet Union: Remember the suffering of individuals, the divided families, the motherless children, the longings of women for their imprisoned husbands. Let our people go.” Peres noted that the Soviet Union was a country of many ethnic groups, each one of which has its homeland within the borders of the USSR, “except the Jews whose homeland is Israel.”
He recalled the Soviets’ fight against Nazism and their early recognition of and support for the Jewish State and the idea of Jewish nationalism attached to the Land of Israel. He said Israel agreed with the USSR that Jewish emigration must not be seen simply as migration from the USSR but as a reunion of people with their homeland. For that reason, he said, Israel seeks to establish direct flights from Russia to Israel.
DEFENDS QUIET, DISCREET DIPLOMACY
The Premier also defended quiet, discreet diplomacy aimed at opening the gates, a policy that has come under attack in some Jewish quarters. There is “no contradiction” between quiet diplomacy and public action, Peres said. “No one is silencing the outcry,” but by the same token quiet diplomacy will continue. A broad spectrum of enlightened world opinion is identified with the Jewish people in this struggle, he said.
“We do not regard the USSR as an enemy,” Peres added. “While we disagree with its political system, we do not seek to fight it or undermine it. We have but one concern: Jews and Judaism.”
Knesset Speaker Shlomo Hillel opened the session with a direct personal appeal to Reagan on behalf of the parliament and the nation. He noted that he spoke for virtually the entire political spectrum and that most of the Knesset members have signed a petition on Soviet Jewry which was sent to Reagan in Washington last week.
The U.S. as a nation of immigrants and the pursuit of freedom should readily understand the meaning of the struggle for Soviet Jewish rights, Hillel said.
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.
