May the government enter into agreements with foreign nations that result in religious discrimination against American citizens? Do the courts have the right to review such dealings by the Executive branch? These are the issues in “American Jewish Congress v. Vance,” which will be argued before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia on Tuesday morning, Oct. 25 by Joel Levy of Washington, D.C., national vice-president of the AJCongress.
The AJCongress appeal seeks reversal of a Federal District Court ruling that dismissed a suit charging four federal officials with violating the constitutional rights of American Jews by excluding them from government-supported programs in Saudi Arabia because of their religion.
Asserting that the federal government was a “silent partner” in Saudi Arabia’s “religious bigotry against Jews,” the AJCongress sought an injunction in December, 1975, barring Secretary of State Henry A. Kissinger, Treasury Secretary William E. Simon, Commerce Secretary Elliot Richardson and Interior Secretary Thomas S. Kleppe from implementing a 1974 U.S.-Saudi Arabia agreement calling for cooperation between the two countries in the fields of economics, technology and industry.
IMPORTANT CONSTITUTIONAL ISSUES
“In seeking to establish the principle that the constitutional rights of American citizens may not be waived by the government in its dealings with foreign states, this suit raises important constitutional issues with long-range implications in the field of international law,” the AJCongress said in filing the suit.
“If other nations wish to benefit from American scientific know-how and other forms of U.S. assistance, they must accept the fact that the U.S. Constitution prohibits discrimination on ground of religion.”
The case was dismissed on April 28, 1976, by District Court Judge Howard F. Corcoran on the ground that the issue was a “non-justifiable, political question.” The AJCongress brief argued that (1) the federal government may not send American citizens to Saudi Arabia with full knowledge that Jews are excluded, and (2) the courts have proper jurisdiction in the matter of federal participation in discriminatory arrangements with foreign states.
The brief asserted that the Executive branch may not conduct the nation’s foreign affairs “without regard to any of the limitations of the Bill of Rights.” The brief also noted that the defendants had not denied that Saudi Arabia has a policy of excluding Jews from its soil.
In filing its appeal, the AJCongress changed the names of the defendants to the current holders of the same positions: Secretary of State Cyrus Vance; Treasury Secretary Michael Blumenthal; Commerce Secretary Juanita M. Kreps; Interior Secretary Cecil D. Andrus; and John E. Murphy, acting administrator, Agency for International Development.
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