Mrs. Schenk Criticizes Youths for Accusing Hadassah of Being Remiss on Soviet Jews

Mrs. Faye Schenk, national president of Hadassah, today assailed youth groups that “set themselves up as spokesmen for Soviet Jewry” and “point a finger of accusation at Hadassah.” In a telephone interview with the Jewish Telegraphic Agency, Mrs. Schenk referred to about 100 teen-agers calling themselves “Jewish Youth for Action” who occupied Hadassah’s offices today for about eight hours and accused the women’s Zionist organization of failing to do enough for Soviet Jews. (See story Page 1). Mrs. Schenk said she did not question the motives of the youngsters but found their tactics “outrageous.” “They are not an authorized or accredited group and Hadassah is under no obligation to answer their questions or accept their demands. Hadassah’s record on behalf of Soviet Jews does not have to be defended,” she said. Mrs. Schenk was out of town earlier today when the sit-in occurred. She said however that had she been in she probably would not have had the police evict the youngsters unless they tried to carry out their threat to remain on the premises overnight. The group left peacefully late this afternoon following a meeting with Joel Eisenberg, associate director of the Hadassah Zionist Youth Commission. Eisenberg told them that if they send representatives to a Youth Commission meeting next Sunday their views would be placed before the Commission.