Vicious Anti-semitic Attacks Voiced by Arabs at U.N. Assembly

The General Assembly’s Special Political Committee today heard some of the most vicious anti-Semitic attacks ever voiced in an international forum when Arab representatives pulled all stops in attacking Israel’s foremost political leaders during the continuing debate on the explosive Arab refugee issue. The Arabs, however, were answered promptly by Israel.

The barrage of insults was begun by Egypt’s Deputy Foreign Minister, Hussein Zulfacar Sabri and, after a protesting interruption by Israel, continued by Saudi Arabia’s Ahmad Shukairy, Ambassador Michael S. Comay, Israel’s permanent representative, appealed to the chairman, Dr. Leopold Benites, of Ecuador, for a halt to personal attacks but Dr. Benites said he could not stop the speakers.

Mr. Sabri, saying “Zionism’s primary task was the cultivation of Israel mania,” denied he was anti-Semitic. “I am more Semitic than all the Greens, Zlotnicks, Shkolniks or Shimonovitches put together, those East Europeans born and reared in Plonsk, Poltaya, Kiev, Bobruisky or whatever it was,” he said. He added that he was “not making up these names.” Green, he said, was the real name of David Ben-Gurion; Mrs. Golda Meir had been born Miss Zlotnick; Levi Eshkol was “alias” Shkolnik.

ISRAELI REPRESENTATIVE CITES EGYPT’S ACTS OF AGGRESSION

Mr. Comay, refusing to enter into personalities, told the committee that Egypt, which was complaining of alleged Israeli “aggression.” had been quarreling with many other U.N. members. He specified Egyptian aggressions and breakage of diplomatic relations with Sudan, Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, Iran, Turkey and Saudi Arabia. He took particular exception to the Egyptian’s characterization of Israelis as “Nazis,” declaring “it takes a sheer Nazi mentality even to make such a comparison.” He accused the Egyptian Government of employing Nazis now, in its propaganda apparatus especially.

“When the representative of the UAR mounts this rostrum in order to charge my country with being aggressors, we cannot pass over in silence such charges from the spokesman of the one regime in the world which is least entitled to talk of aggressiveness, and most vulnerable to such an accusation itself.” Mr. Comay stated.

Referring to Egypt’s invasion of Israel in 1948, its proclaimed state of war against Israel, the illegal blockade of the Suez Canal, and renewed threats in recent months against Israel, he noted: “Egypt’s face in the Middle East looks quite different from Egypt’s face here at the United Nations. He then listed all of the various Arab and Middle East countries with which Egypt has had disputes and is still having disputes now. He emphasized that Cairo is the only imperialist capital remaining in the Middle East or Africa.”

ARAB DELEGATE ‘MODIFIES’ HIS ENDORSEMENT OF TACUARA MOVEMENT

When Mr. Comay had answered the Egyptian, Shukairy took the floor and delivered another diatribe lasting a full hour. It was Shukairy’s fifth speech in three days. Mr. Comay replied to Shukairy briefly by noting “this man’s hatred” and asking the delegates whether they would be willing to admit into their countries persons with that much open hostility to their governments.

Shukairy backed down on his enthusiastic support of Argentine’s Nazi Tacuara movement. He said Latin American delegations had told him his information on Tacuara was “incomplete.” He accepted the statement of the Argentine delegate that the Tacuara organization was “insignificant” and he accepted the Chilean representative’s statement that Tacuara actions were “not quite humanitarian.” He asserted he “detested Nazism and Fascism” and again accused Israel, asserting that Israel was “a whole state of Tacuara, a Nazi state in our midst.” He quoted Arnold Toynbee as describing Israel as “Nazi.”

Shukairy’s slight modification of his earlier warm endorsement of the Tacuara movement was noted here as an effort by the Saudi Arabian representative to lessen charges that he was anti-Semitic. However, competent observers here remarked on the fact that not a single member of the United Nations, except Israel, voiced anger at the “pogrom atmosphere” created by the Arabs this year. It was noted here that, while Latin Americans, led by Argentina and Chile, did take issue with Shukairy’s endorsement of Tacuara, no one but Israel took the trouble to denounce -anti-Semitism in general.