Barmore Prevented from Completing Presentation Regarding the Plight of Syrian and Soviet Jews

A statement by Ambassador Jacob Barmore Israel’s observer to the Sub-Commission on Prevention of Discrimination and Protection of Minorities, could not be completed today when the meeting refused to grant him “one or two” more minutes to complete his statement. Speaking about the plight of Soviet Jewry and the persecution of Syrian Jewry, the Israeli diplomat was interrupted many times by the Soviet and Arab representatives. Israel is not a member of the sub-committee. Rudolph Carter, of the U.S. Mission, also objected that Barmore’s time could not be extended because only a certain time had been allotted for observers.

Israel was sharply attacked after Barmore’s statement by the Arab and Soviet representatives. Egypt called Israel a “cancer in the Mideast” and said a day would come when “Israel will pay” the Arabs for all it has taken from them. The Soviet Union said that Israel talks about the plight of Syrian Jewry to avert attention from its treatment of Arabs in the occupied territories. Barmore was not granted a right to answer.

During his presentation on the plight of Syrian Jewry, Barmore said: “The Jewish community of Syria, now numbering about 4500. has. for many years, been victim of humiliating persecution and oppression in every sphere of life. Discriminatory restrictions, arbitrary arrests, tortures and even mysterious murders all make the existence of members of this beleaguered community unbearable. But above all these helpless people have been held for years as virtual hostages deprived of their, fundamental rights to depart from Syria.”

Discussing the plight of Soviet Jews. Barmore observed: “The harassment and intimidation of Jews in the USSR seeking to apply for exit visas, continues and indeed has been intensified and those with a higher education its special target.” The Israeli Ambassador declared that “in spite of the elaborate procedure of intimidation, more than 138,000 applicants await their permits.” He added. “There are at least 1500 Soviet Jews whose applications to leave the Soviet Union for Israel have been continuously rejected and the applicants have been subjected to repeated harassment.”