New proposals to secure the return to the Jewish community of at least a large proportion of Jewish war orphans placed in non-Jewish homes are being considered by the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Anglo-Jewish Association for submission to the U.N. Human Rights Commission, it was reported today.
The Association was told at its meeting last night that the U.N. body rejects the claim of Orthodox Jewish groups for the return to the Jewish fold of all Jewish orphans placed in non-Jewish homes. Therefore, the Association heard, it is necessary to find a “less rigid approach which may secure the necessary support.” The Foreign Affairs Committee submitted to the Association the draft of a proposal establishing the principle that orphans should be brought up in the faith of their parents, but adding that this principle should “be overruled only if the vital interests of the child are held to be in a contrary sense by an impartial body.”
The proposal produced a heated discussion in which Orthodox members of the Association emphasized the danger of putting forward “views contrary to those of Jewish ecclesiastical authorities.” Neville Laski also warned that the proposal would “arouse a storm against the Association.” It was agreed to reconsider the wording of the draft.
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