The Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations called last night on Czechoslovakian Government authorities to conduct “a full investigation of the murder” of Charles H. Jordan. “We demand that the parties responsible for his death be brought to justice,” the Jewish coordinating body declared. The Conference statement was endorsed by 23 national Jewish lay and religious bodies, representing the overwhelming majority of American Jews.
“It appears to be more than coincidence that Mr. Jordan should have met his death at a time of hardening anti-Semitic propaganda in Czechoslovakia, triggered by the Arab-Israel conflict and including charges that the Joint Distribution Committee was part of a ‘world-wide conspiracy,'” the statement declared. The Jewish organizations said they were “profoundly disturbed” by Mr. Jordan’s “mysterious disappearance and tragic death.”
The statement rejected the “government-inspired” theory, advanced in some Czech newspapers, that Mr. Jordan may have had taken his own life. “The possibility of suicide in this case does not exist,” the Jewish organizations continued. “Mr. Jordan, a dedicated humanitarian and world figure in the field of social welfare, was a healthy and happy man. He had no reason to take his own life. There is no evidence that he did.”
The statement also criticized as “troubling” and giving rise to “suspicion” the “hasty and untoward action of Czech officials in completing the postmortem examination before representatives of Mr. Jordan’s family or of the JDC could be present.” It was for these reasons, the statement concluded, that a “full investigation” was demanded.
A memorial and protest meeting on the death of Mr. Jordan was held today in front of the Czechoslovakian Mission to the United Nations, attended by adults and students with the participation of a number of rabbis. The meeting called upon the Czechoslovakian Government to permit a complete and impartial investigation of Mr. Jordan’s death by well-known international figures.
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.
