Responding to reports that Jews in Iraq are suffering new persecution, the Israeli government appealed to the United Nations and to foreign governments today to aid the Jewish community in Iraq. Foreign Minister Abba Eban reported at today’s Cabinet meeting that the situation of Iraqi Jews has taken a turn for the worse recently although only a few months ago it seemed to be improving.
Eban referred to recent news that a Jew was found murdered in his Baghdad home and that eight other Iraqi Jews were taken from their homes recently. There is no information as to their fate. Eban said he intended to make a statement on Iraqi Jews in the Knesset later this week.
He noted that international pressure had in the past succeeded in persuading the Iraqi government to adopt a more lenient attitude toward the Jewish community. Eban said that Israel has appealed to Alan Poher, president of the French Senate, and to United Nations Secretary General Kurt Waldheim to use their good offices on behalf of Iraqi Jews.
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