Gottfried Neuburger, head of the American branch of the world-wide Neturei Karta movement, confirmed to the Jewish Telegraphic Agency today that he had sent a letter to the Iraqi Ambassador to the United Nations last fall praising the Iraqi regime in the name of “anti-Zionist Jews” for declaring Jewish holidays official holidays in Iraq.
The JTA obtained a copy of the letter, dated Oct. 26, 1972, and addressed to Ambassador Abdul Karim Al-Shaikhly of the Iraqi UN Mission which concluded with the remark that “We are sure that the ancient ties and traditional friendship between your country and the Jews will continue long after the Zionist plague will have disappeared.” Neuburger, who claimed that a “distorted” version of the-letter had been published some months ago, confirmed, after hearing it read, that the copy in JTA hands was authentic.
He said that he had received a “courtesy reply” from the Iraqi envoy who had stressed the ancient ties between Baghdad and the Jewish people.
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.
