The view, held in some quarters, that “crimes committed by the Nazi government or any state against its own nationals are beyond the realm of international morality” was declared irreligious and immoral in a statement issued today by the Synagegue Council of America, the representative religious body of American Jewry.
“The concept of the State as all-powerful within its owh borders and free in international conscience to carry out the vilest of crimes so long as they are inflicted on its own nationals and others within its power, places the state beyond humanity and the universal law of morality.” the statement reads. “This is a fundamantally irreligious and immoral point of view. The Synagogue Council of America expresses its deep regret that, in some quarters, the opinion seems to be held that actions of a government against its own nationals can not be regarded as criminal no metter what their nature.
“The Synagogue Council of America therefore calls upon our government and upon our fellow citizens to repudiate any suggestion that crimes committed by the Nazi government or by any other state against its own nationals or others within its power are beyond the realm of international morality. The cause for which the United Nations are fighting is fundamentally a recognition that the moral law must govern all human relations and is binding upon all men and nations.”
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.
