Happy Rockefeller Bussed by Walesa as He Wows N.Y.

Solidarity leader Lech Walesa kissed the hand of a Rockefeller and wowed a gathering of industrial leaders and union bigwigs on his triumphant arrival in the capital of the capitalist world.

The shipyard electrician from Gdansk whose labor movement changed Poland met with American union leaders this morning and praised this country’s willingness to help his homeland.

Starting his second day in New York, Walesa told a gathering of labor chiefs that in Poland, “we fight, we risk. . . . This is the greatness of America. We have to fight. We have no choice. You do not have to fight.”

Gov. Mario M. Cuomo joined the meeting and announced plans by Harper & Row to publish a collection of Abraham Lincoln’s speeches and writings on democracy in Polish and English next year.

Cuomo said he conceived of the “Lincoln on Democracy Project” during a meeting in June with teachers from Poland who told him that books on Lincoln were no longer available in their country.

In thanking Cuomo for the Lincoln project, Walesa alluded to the pace of political change throughout Eastern Europe. “I don’t know if you can keep pace with translations for other languages because the line is already forming.”

Later, in an emotional meeting with the leaders of American Jewry, Walesa said that there is no room in Poland for anti-Semitism and that Poles who harbor hatred for Jews deserve to be spat upon.

His comments were made to a closed-door meeting with the leaders of more than 40 American Jewish groups and included a survivor of Auschwitz who said he could never bring himself to return to Poland and a history of hate.

In a brief public comment after the meeting, the Solidarity leader told reporters that both Poland and the Jews suffered terribly in World War II.

“The Jews were the first, we were the second. There must be understanding between us. Both nations deserve that,” he said.

Participants in the meeting said Walesa denied that Poles are inherently anti-Semitic but said that anti-Semitism had been used as a weapon by Polish governments.

Malcolm Hoenlein, the executive director of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations, said Walesa spoke from the heart.

On Thursday night, Walesa gave a pep talk to capitalist heavyweights and union bigwigs who celebrated the success of his Solidarity movement.

The International Rescue Committee gave Walesa its Freedom Award. Past recipients included Winston Churchill, George Meany, Hubert H. Humphrey and Elie Wiesel.

At a reception before the dinner Thursday night, Walesa kissed the hand of socialite Happy Rockefeller, widow of Nelson A. Rockefeller.