The question of Arab states discrimination against British Jews was raised in the House of Lords today by Lord Rea, leader of the Liberal peers.
Lord Rea asked what the government had done about Arab states refusal to grant transit visas to British Jews and the refusal of these states to recognize the validity of a power of attorney held in behalf of any British firm in which a Jew had a proprietary interest. He called this “improper discrimination” against British subjects.
Replying for the government, Lord Reading, Minister of State in the Foreign Office, said that these discriminatory measures were an outgrowth of the Arab League boycott against Israel. He added that the British Government considers this a violation of international law and has protested on numerous occasions. When Lord Rea interjected to ask whether the government would consider an appeal on this matter to the United-Nations, Lord Reading replied that “these aspects had not been hitherto entirely overlooked.”
(A question concerning Arab states’ discrimination against American Jews was put to Secretary of State Dulles at his press conference in Washington today. He replied that this was a difficult problem to cope with and comparable to certain problems in the United States. He expressed hope in a gradual development of tolerance.)
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