In a major address before a special session of the B’nai B’rith convention focusing on Soviet Jewry. Eugene Gold, National Conference on Soviet Jewry chairman, criticized both Presidential candidates for advocating quiet diplomacy as a means to alleviate the struggle of Soviet Jews to emigrate to Israel, or enjoy full cultural and religious rights within the USSR.
Gold said, “Such international accords as the Helsinki Final Act, which was signed by more than thirty nations just one year ago, and the U.S. Congress’s linkage of trade with the right of Soviet Jews to emigrate are examples of ‘open diplomacy’ at its best.” He continued, “Quiet diplomacy alone never helped a Soviet Jew. Nor will it in the future.”
To a packed session, Gold urged that the American Jewish community cannot expect others to work on behalf of Soviet Jewry until they prepare to work for the cause themselves. “We must demonstrate our full mobilization of resources,” he finished,” in support of this historic and momentous effort.”
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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.
