The loyalty of the Jews in Lebanon was attacked and also defended in the Lebanese Parliament at a stormy session at which the question was debated whether to include Jews in a bill dealing with the right to buy Lebanese land, The New York Times reported from Beirut this week-end.
Deputy Kamel el Assad remarked that the measure would enable Jews of Lebanese descent to buy large tracts of land in Lebanon for Israel. “I don’t believe Lebanese Jews owe their allegiance to Lebanon,” Deputy Takieddin Solh stated. “It is to Israel that their allegiance goes.” Defense of the Jewish community came from Deputy Joseph Chader. He told the Parliament that no Jews in Lebanon or Syria, had been convicted of spying for Israel. He asserted that Jews in Lebanon “are more loyal to this country than many other citizens.” The bill was then referred to the Committee for Justice and Administrative Affairs.
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.
