Negotiations were reported underway today between the Board of Deputies of British Jews and other Jewish organizations about the composition of a delegation which will seek to call on Soviet Premier Kosygin during his pending visit to London starting on February 6.
A leading member of the Board said that a number of Jewish organizations seemed to be anxious to join the delegation for public relations purposes even though the Board is the accepted representative body of British Jewry.
It was noted that the negotiations had an air of unreality because there has been no indication that the Soviet Premier would be willing to meet with a Jewish delegation to discuss the problems of Soviet Jews. Previous experience, it was pointed out, strongly suggested he would do no such thing.
A government source said that Premier Harold Wilson was expected to discuss the Middle East with the Soviet Premier, among other issues, and that he would present to Mr. Kosygin the British stand for a ban on shipments of arms to the region, as was indicated by Foreign Secretary George Brown in Parliament recently. However, the source said, it was very doubtful whether Mr. Wilson would bring up the subject of Soviet Jews.
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.