American Jewish Committee Hits Israel-arab Border Violence

A resolution condemning the recurrence of violence on the Arab-Israel borders by either side was adopted here today at the concluding session of the three-day American Jewish Committee national executive board meeting. The resolution called on the United States Government to “assume its responsibility within the United Nations to secure concerted action towards peace in that area.”

The resolution said, in parts, “The Arab refugee problem, protection of the Holy Places, violence on the borders, and similar issues are not beyond amicable solution. The precondition is a willingness on the part of each side to meet at the peace table. This, the Arabs have thus far refused to do.

“The United States, itself, bears an obligation to art in this situation. Our government has announced a basic review of Near Eastern policy. We sincerely hope that there will soon emerge a revised policy which would stabilize the situation in the Near East, with particular reference, among other things, to Israel’s security problems, and promote conditions leading toward eventual peace in the Near East. We also hope our government will pursue the Johnston water plan to fruition, making such equitable modifications as are necessary. Israel is urged to cooperate fully with the project in the hope that the Arab nations will do likewise. We are convinced that enlightened American self-interest requires speedy action to bring about the peace so long over due in one of the world’s most sensitive areas.

“We continue to urge our government not to supply arms to either the Arab states or Israel until more peaceful conditions exist in the area, and certainly not to the Arabs to the exclusion of Israel.”

Other resolutions adopted at the meeting session called on the Administration and Congress to eliminate the iniquitous operation of the Refugee Belief Act and revise the basic immigration code and congratulated the United Nations on its tenth anniversary and pledged the AJC to continue its efforts to foster public understanding of the UN’s achievements.

AJC HONORS MAXWELL RABB; GIVES WHITE HOUSE AID SCROLL

Enlightened American public opinion is tumbling down the walls of discrimination and prejudice, the secretary to President Eisenhower’s cabinet. Maxwell M.Rabb, told the 200 leaders of American Jewry at the meeting.

Irving M. Engel AJC president presented Mr. Rabb with a scroll and special citation “for his devoted efforts and resourcefulness in ###ying forward President Eisenhower’s high resolve that all Americans regardless of race, color or creed, s###ll enjoy to the full their birthright of equal opportunity.”

American industrialists and business leaders have a $30,000,000,000 stake in banishing discrimination from every facet of American life. Dr. John Slawson intergroup relations expert and executive vice-president of the Committee, told the parley today. He said that this was the sum wasted annually in loss of purchasing power, skilled labor and social problems produced by discriminatory practices. Dr. Slawson called on American industrialists and business leaders to become pacesetters in banishing discrimination from every facet of American life.

Saturday night’s session of the conference heard a sharp denunciation of the nation’s immigration policies of the past two years from Senator Herbert H. Lehman, New York Democrat. Sen. Lehman called the Refugee Relief program a “fiasco” and asserted that the McCarran-Walter Act’s “victims” were “legion,” but added that “great as the injury to the individuals has been, the injury to the United States has been greater.”

The Senator’s criticism of immigration policies was joined by Mr. Engel who described them as “short-sighted.” He also called the dismissal of Edward Corsi as special assistant to the Secretary of State “a final, dramatic warning” in this field.

In a symposium on the Middle East Jacob Blaustein honorary president, declared that the problems endangering the peace of the area can be overcome if the Western power’s, the United States in particular, and the United Nations would exercise their leadership. Other symposium participants were Professor ### Harewitz of the Near and Middle East institute of column’s University, Dr. ### Peretz of Hofstra College, and Judge He must Lowenberg. Judge of the District County of Tel Aviv.

The Committee made public a document entitled “Religion in Public Education” at the opening of its meeting here Friday in which it criticized efforts to introduce a religious emphasis in the public schools. Such efforts, the document asserted, “may well create divisive intergroup tenstion.”

(In New York this week-end, the American Jewish Congress announced that as a result of its complaint the New York State Probation Commission had disapproved of the system appointing probation officers in the Children’s Court of New York City on the basis of a religious quota system. The AJC had contended that the system violated the State anti-discrimination law. The controversy arose out of the practice established a number of years ago in the Children’s Court to apportion probation officers among the three major faiths in accordance with an Estimated quota so that probation officers could be assigned to children of the same faith as the officers.)