Report Jordan Agrees to Refrain from Asking U.S. Firms About Jewish Employes on Their Boards

The Department of Commerce said yesterday that Jordan had agreed not to ask American firms which export products to Jordan whether there are any Jews on their boards. The assurance was made on the basis of a letter to the Commerce Department, sent by the State Department Monday and made public yesterday, after the Commerce Department notified the State Department that an American firm reported to the Commerce Department last month that it had been asked by the Jordanian Ministry of National Economy to certify there were no Jews on its board of directors.

The State Department said, in the letter, that the issue had been raised by Ambassador Thomas R. Pickering at “very high levels” of the Jordanian government. The State Department noted that Pickering had reported the request by the National Economy Ministry to the American firm “did not have the approval of the responsible authorities of the Jordanian government.” The letter added that Pickering had been assured that “steps would be taken to prevent recurrence of this particular problem.”