American Jews were warned today that, in their proper concern for the shortcomings of West Germany on Israeli and other Jewish matters, they should not overlook the fact that East Germany’s record was far worse.
Dr. Joachim Prinz, president of the American Jewish Congress, citing the comparison in an address to the national convention of the organization’s Women’s Division, said that despite dissatisfaction with West Germany, “we recognize that the Bonn regime has at least begun the great task of moral redemption and that the leaders of West Germany are responsible to the views of the world Jewish community and expressions of international concern.” He cited the problems of elimination of all vestiges of Nazism in West Germany and meeting of obligations to Israel and the survivors of the Nazi period.
East Germany, he pointed out, has rejected every Jewish appeal and rebuffed every approach from the victims of Nazism. He charged that the regime of Walter Ulbricht “has become the active and avid partner of Arab adventurism in its announced intention” to destroy Israel. He asserted that East Germany had Nazis in high places and refused to allow any restitution of victims of Nazism while openly supporting Egyptian maneuvers against Israel.
Aaron Goldman, chairman of the National Community Relations Advisory Council, warned the convention yesterday against provisions of the Administration’s aid to education bill which would aid religiously sponsored schools. He said most Jewish groups were convinced that “once the public purse is opened to religiously oriented schools, the result will be the slow erosion of our public school system.”
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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.
