U.S. Criticized in Senate for Tolerating Arab Ban on Jewish Gi’s

The United States should withdrew its Air Force units from Saudi Arabia rather than submit to anti-Jewish discrimination, Sen. Wayne Morse, Oregon Democrat told the Senate this week-end. Agreement was expressed by Sen. Paul Douglas. Illinois Democrat.

Sen. Douglas said: “The State Department not only has been extraordinarily timid, but also has been extraordinarily callous as regards human principles in this whole matter.” Permitting the Saudi Arabian Government to exercise a veto power as to what members of the U.S. Armed Forces shall be permitted to go to Saudi Arabia “is a disgraceful ceding of national self-respect,” he stated.

Sen. Morse said that “an air base in Saudi Arabia is not worth the sacrifice of American ideals, and neither is oil worth the sacrifice of those ideals.” He termed the discrimination against Jewish personnel “simply inexcusable.” He said “if the Government of Saudi Arabia does not wish to respect our right to have any American regardless of his race, color, or creed, serve in a United States uniform at a United States base in Saudi Arabia, then let us remove our forces from Saudi Arabia.”

Sen. Morse said he thought “the importance of that base is greatly overrated. He expressed the opinion that the base probably is considered of more importance to certain economic oil interests that it is important to the United States as a blockade against possible aggression by Communist.” He said he did not believe Saudi Arabia would go over to the Communists “but if it should happen, let me say it would be quite a headache to the Communists.”