American Jewish Committee Clarifies Its Stand on Israel

Statements accusing the American Jewish Committee of being ” anti-Israel” and of favoring isolation of American Jews from other Jewish communities were denied at a press conference here today by Jacob Blaustein, president of the organization. Mr. Blaustein specifically emphasized that the denial covered, among others, a statement to this effect issued recently by the American section of the Jewish Agency.

The American Jewish Committee believes in continued aid for Israel and in close cultural, spiritual and economic co-operation between American Jews and the Jews of Israel, Mr. Blaustein said. At the same time, he asserted, the Committee opposes any policy which would affect adversely the position of American Jews. “We would be derelict if we did not point out to Israel that the pursuance of courses which American Jews consider inimical to them would deter both non-Zionist’s and many Zionists from their desire to be helpful to Israel.”

Discussing the American Jewish Committee’s resolution of October 14, Mr. Blaustein said that it was merely the application of the agency’s well-known philosophy to the most recent events regarding the relations between American Jews and Israel. He asserted that criticism of the resolution was largely uninformed and misrepresented the American Jewish Committee’s position.

The American Jewish Committee, Mr. Blaustein pointed out, is not a Zionist organization and never has been. Our non-Zionist philosophy is something we have always spelled out clearly. We have differed with the Zionist ideology because of its implications concerning the nature of Jewish life in America and the nature of the kinship which characterizes world Jewry.”

DOES NOT OPPOSE GRANTING OF SPECIAL STATUS TO JEWISH AGENCY

As a non-Zionist organization friendly to Israel, the American Jewish Committee, Mr. Blaustein said, has been “instrumental in bringing about a large degree of unity on the American scene which has helped pave the way for the cause of Israel to be well understood and accepted here.” Yet, he added, the Committee has “not sought either special status or special recognition from anyone. We have acted because we are Americans and Jews.” The Committee’s record of aid to Israel is so clear that it is conceded even by its severest critics, Mr. Blaustein pointed out.

Referring to the question of the special status requested by the recent World Zionist Congress, Mr. Blaustein asserted that “the American Jewish Committee neither advocates nor opposes the granting of special status to the Jewish Agency. within Israel as a service agency regarding the resettlement and rehabilitation of immigrants in Israel. That is a matter for decision by the Government of Israel and the Zionist movement.”

But, he continued, the American Jewish Committee is opposed to the basis upon which the World Zionist Organization has requested status. The Zionists have asked to be recognized as the representative of the Jewish people, ” a formulation, Mr. Blaustein stated, which “implies that Jews all over the world are an entity that can be represented by a single organization.”

The same concept, he said, “underlies the request of the World Zionist Congress that Israel grant special status to the World Zionist Organization with regard to activities outside of Israel in behalf of that country.” This point, he added, was like wise made by Prime Minister Ben Gurion in his cable to Ambassador Eban, released on October 9. “Incidentally, ” Mr. Blaustein added, “our aid to Israel cannot be ‘co-ordinated’ through the W.Z.O.”

OPPOSES ZIONIST EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMS FOR U.S. JEWS

A further point of difference which Mr. Blaustein discussed was the question of educational programs for American Jews. The American Jewish Committee, he stated, opposed educational programs, such as those sponsored by the Jewish Agency, which, he said, have already caused ” serious internal conflicts” in Latin American and South African Jewish communities. Agency emissaries to those communities, he said, have derogated local efforts in Jewish education and “have attempted to impose a uniform philosophy of education upon diverse elements.”

The A.J.C., Mr. Blaustein said, will oppose any educational program “that undervalues the quality of Jewish life in the United States or that is calculated to inculcate nationalistic feeling toward Israel.” He pointed out that “American Jews do not favor the use of their money, which they contribute to the Jewish Agency for use in Israel, for educational purposes in this country of a kind which will tend to divide rather than to unite us.”

Mr. Blaustein called for tolerance and understanding among Jewish groups. He cautioned those who “seek special credit or status not to seek to compromise the position of Jews in America and other countries, or to control the way in which others wish to carry out their obligations and willingness to help Israel.”