“Putting Jews in Soviet gas chambers would not be an American concern.” This statement was made by a Secretary of State to the President of the United States at a pivotal time when the fate of 3 million Soviet Jews hung in balance. These are words that one would only expect from a virulent anti-Semite, not a Jew who fled Nazi Germany just before gas chambers were used to murder millions of European Jews.

"Thank G-d, World Jewry, and the people and Congress of the United States disagreed with Kissinger’s sentiment and took action to ensure that the leaders of the Soviet Union knew that the fate of Soviet Jewry was very much an American concern”, said Rabbi Abraham Cooper, associate dean of the Simon Wiesenthal Center, who was a long-time activist on behalf of Soviet Jewry.

“The release of this outrageous statement gives Dr. Kissinger the opportunity to apologize to his people and to history. If he dodges that responsibility it will forever besmirch his name and record,” Cooper concluded.

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The Simon Wiesenthal Center is one of the largest international Jewish human rights organizations with over 400,000 member families in the United States. It is an NGO at international agencies including the United Nations, UNESCO, the OSCE, the OAS, the Council of Europe and the Latin American Parliament (Parlatino).