American Veterans Seek Eisenhower’s Action for Egyptian Jews

The American Veterans Committee today asked President Eisenhower to take the leadership for United Nations action to investigate the persecution of Jews, British and French nationals in Egypt. The AVC said it has received information that Jewish citizens of Egypt and British and French nationals in that country were being subjected to a campaign of terror.

The veterans organization suggested that UN observers be sent to Egypt to investigate Egypt’s reported mistreatment of British. French and Jews. It said its information was that the heads of hundreds of Jewish families were being subjected to Egyptian police pressure to leave the country. The veterans organization charged that this action was being taken without any official Egyptian Governmental proclamation.

Heads of families were being placed in concentration camps, AVC charged, and they are being released only upon their promise to leave Egypt forever without contacting their families or salvaging their financial resources. AVC said its reports indicated that Egyptian authorities were taking over Jewish businesses and that Jewish citizens of Egypt were being forced out of their jobs in commercial enterprises. In some areas, AVC reports indicated grocery stores and other small businesses were refusing to provide Jewish citizens with food and other necessities.

AVC also said that reports indicated that deported Jewish families are being forced to leave one member behind in Egypt as a hostage to keep deportees from revealing the true situation in Egypt. AVC reported that its information came from individuals who had only just returned from the Middle East and from contacts in organizations which have branches in that area.