Dr. Norman Lamm, president of Yeshiva University, has appealed to President Ford and to Secretary of State Henry A. Kissinger to deny extradition of Elijah-Ephraim Jhirad, former Judge Advocate General of the Indian Navy. Jhirad is being sought for extradition by the Indian government ostensibly in connection with alleged misappropriation of some $1600 of naval funds in 1961. If he is returned to India, it is feared he will be jailed without trial, tortured and possibly killed, Lamm said.
An ardent anti-Communist pro-Westerner and Zionist, Jhirad asserts he is a victim of political persecution. He claims the pro-Arab forces in the Indira Ghandi government are out to bring him back to set an example to other Zionist sympathizers. According to Lamm. Jhirad, 63, who lives with his wife and three teenaged children in New York, is suffering from asthma and a heart condition.
Lamm, who is chairman of the newly formed Committee for Justice for Elijah E. Jhirad, said he first met Jhirad in 1960 while visiting the Bnai Israel Jewish Community in India. “He was one of India’s most-distinguished Jewish citizens,” Lamm said. “I find it almost impossible to believe that he has been guilty of embezzlement, and even if he were, he would be suffering a penalty vastly disproportionate to the crime he is alleged to have committed.”
In a letter to Ford on behalf of the Committee Lamm asserted that “extradition would be a horrendous miscarriage of justice. It would be contrary to the fundamental principles of our country and to all the dictates of conscience.”
Other members of the Committee include New York City Council President Paul O’Dwyer; Professor of Economics Irwin Friend; State Assemblyman G. Oliver Koppell; New York Board of Rabbis Executive Vice-President Rabbi Harold H. Gordon; Honorary Executive Vice-Chairman of the American Joint Distribution Committee Samuel L. Haber; and Arthur H. Rosenfeld, publisher of a number of journals at Warren Gorham & Lamont where Jhirad is presently employed as managing editor.
HOPE SEEMS TO BE FADING
Hope appears to be fading for the jurist despite the numerous appeals from leaders of the Jewish community and other distinguished Americans, Lamm said. At this time only the intervention of Ford or Kissinger can avert Jhirad’s forced return to India. With the Supreme Court’s denial last October to review the case, a ruling by a lower court holding Jhirad extraditable stands firm. On Nov. 8. Judge Gerard L. Goetel allowed Jhirad to remain free on $50,000 bail pending the State Department’s decision after certifying and turning over Jhirad’s file to the Department.
Kissinger and the Deputy Secretary of State are reported to be reviewing the case at this time. A decision is expected to be made by Jan. 4, 1977. 60 days from the receipt of the Jhirad file.
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.
