B’nai B’rith International today called on governments around the world to act both directly and through the United Nations to end the persecution of Jews in Syria, Iraq and Iran.
In a resolution approved unanimously by the Jewish service organization’s Board of Governors at its annual summer meeting, B’nai B’rith cited systematic and official mistreatment of the Jewish communities in those three Islamic countries.
Living under impoverished conditions, Jews there are victims of scapegoating for economic and diplomatic disasters and, although the objects of hate and scorn, they are neither permitted to improve their quality of life nor leave the country.
Citing its distress over the situation, B’nai B’rith pledged to increase its efforts, “both in public forums and through private channels,” to seek the right of Jews in Syria, Iraq and Iran to emigrate and to persuade these countries “to allay conditions for those who remain.”
Stating that it will continue “to emphasize that the status of Jews in these countries is strictly a humanitarian issue and should not be caught up in the Arab-Israeli conflict,” B’nai B’rith called on “concerned governments” to intercede on behalf of these communities and to bring their plights before the UN, especially its Commission on Human Rights.
RESOLUTIONS ON AWACS, UN
Among other resolutions adopted by the Board of Governors, B’nai B’rith urged its large American membership to continue efforts to defeat the Reagan Administration’s proposal to supply Saudi Arabia with AWACS and offensive add-ons to F-15 warplanes.
Terming the sales an action “against the interests of the United States,” and a threat to the security of Israel — a violation of a commitment made in 1978 — B’nai B’rith called on members of the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives to vote their formal disapproval. Both houses must pass a resolution of opposition in order to kill the sale.
The Board of Governors also proposed that individual members of the United Nations withhold funds to UN agencies “which violate the values and principles of the binding international agreements under which they were created.” The proposal is in reference to several agencies that have given recognition and support to the Palestine Liberation Organization despite the PLO’s advocacy of terrorism and military action in place of diplomacy.
In addition, the resolution is an objection to the unbridled attacks on Jews, Israel, the United States and the West that have come to predominate many UN activities.
Contending that the agreements that were made in establishing these agencies are being broken — to the detriment of the UN — B’nai B’rith declared that adherence to the principles and rules of the world body would be ensured by “a system of rewards and penalties, especially those agencies supported by voluntary contributions.”
OTHER RESOLUTIONS ADOPTED
Other resolutions approved by the Board of Governors covered a wide range of concerns. they included:
Anti-Semitism: The board, citing a resurgence internationally, called on all governments and intergovernmental institutions “to initiate or intensify” a drive against all forms of terrorism, urged human rights and defense agencies to expose and repudiate “falsifiers of the Holocaust,” and asked Western nations to support the effort of Michael Novak, the U.S. representative to the UN Commission on Human Rights, “to excoriate anti-Semitism, reject double standards at the UN and repudiate the ‘Zionism equals racism’ thesis and similar perspectives as anathema to civilized society.”
Israel under attack: The Board of Governors called on governments “and those who influence public opinion” to view Israel “not exclusively in terms of specific policies,” but as a nation “facing awesome dilemmas in the quest for peace.” Stating that the West’s impatience with the pace of autonomy talks “is unjustified and misplaced,” it asked Western governments to “appreciate” that “nothing less than Israel’s survival as a free nation is at stake.”
Soviet Jewry: Pointing out that Jewish emigration from the Soviet Union had dropped drastically in the first six months of 1981, B’nai B’rith called on the Soviet government to “adhere to the solemn obligations” it had accepted in signing the Helsinki Final Act and urged others committed to human rights to demand that the denial of the rights of Soviet Jews cease.
Raoul Wallenberg: Noting that the U.S. Senate had passed a resolution granting honorary citizenship to Raoul Wallenberg, the Swedish diplomat who had saved thousands of Hungarian Jews from Nazi extermination and who had disappeared after his arrest by the Soviet Union, B’nai B’rith asked the U.S. House of Representatives also to approve the resolution.
Freedom of choice: The Board declared that women should have the right to choose freely whether or not to terminate a pregnancy “in the early months” and called on B’nai B’rith members to oppose efforts to outlaw abortion.
Equal Rights Amendment: B’nai B’rith reaffirmed its belief that the amendment would give American women the same standing before the law that men now enjoy “and that the approval of ERA can only enhance America’s reputation as the leading champion of human rights in the world.” Consequently, it urged members to “redouble” their efforts to obtain ratification of the amendment.
The Board of Governors is B’nai B’rith International’s top policy-making body. Members attending this summer’s meeting came from Argentina, England, Canada, Mexico, Panama, Sweden and the United States.
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