American Reform rabbis will initiate an appeal directly to Pope Pius in the case of the Finally children, according to a resolution adopted today by the Central Conference of American Rabbis at its 64th annual convention. This action was taken on a recommendation of the Conference’s Commission on Justice and Peace, which declared:
“Defiance of the French courts and their processes of justice and the moral law of mankind, in a large part abetted by the Spanish Government as well as by functionaries of the Roman Catholic Church, has shocked the conscience of mankind. We urge the Conference, in cooperation with all interested groups, to appeal directly to the Vatican and its supreme spiritual authority, the Pope, to the end that these children shall be returned immediately to the legal and moral custody of their relatives in accordance with the expressed wishes of their martyred parents. “
The rabbis also decided to send a deputation to President Eisenhower to make a personal plea for his active intercession for the repeal of the McCarran-Walter Immigration Act, described by the delegates to the convention as “totally un-American.”
Another resolution asked the United States to use its good offices to “persuade the Arab nations to lift their boycott and blockades against Israel and to join her in a concerted defense against Soviet aggression in the Middle East,” Aid for both Israel and the Arab nations was asked by Congress.
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