The European Parliament has postponed discussion of a proposed $200 million aid package to Syria until the fall.
The package had been rejected in January, after the legislative body accused Syria of widespread human rights violations.
But the parliament’s Commission on Development and Cooperation voted 15-8 earlier this month to bring the aid package to last week’s Parliament meeting.
Informed sources said the decision to resurrect the aid package reflected in part the recent announcement that Syria had begun to let Jews leave the country.
When Jewish groups learned that the Syrian aid package was up for reconsideration, they quickly sent letters and faxes to leaders of the European Community and member nations, arguing that Syria had yet to demonstrate convincingly that it had reformed its human rights record.
A European Parliament spokesman said the Parliament decided to postpone consideration of the aid until the next scheduled session this fall at the demand of a British deputy, James Moor-house.
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.
