A spokesman for the National Black Political Convention confirmed to the Jewish Telegraphic Agency today that a recent meeting of its steering committee unanimously approved a “rectified” and “softened” version of a resolution adopted in Gary, Indiana on March 12 which called for the dismemberment of Israel. According to Jeledi Mfuasi, Mayor Richard G. Hatcher of Gary and Rep. Charles C. Diggs Jr. (D. Mich.), co-chairmen of the Black Political Convention, “went along with” the revised version that condemned Israel for the “forceful occupation” of Arab territory but eliminated the call for Israel’s dismemberment.
Neither Hatcher nor Diggs could be reached directly today for comment. An aide to Hatcher told the JTA that the Mayor took the same critical stand on the revised resolution as he had on the original which he had called “unfortunate” and unrepresentative of the convention as a whole.
Diggs is one of the 13 members of the Congressional Black Caucus which issued a unanimous statement in Washington on March 21 in defense of Israel’s existence, three days before the Black Convention steering committee met at Howard University in Washington. The statement, hailed by Jewish bodies, was seen as a repudiation of the March 12 Gary resolution.
Mrs. Caroline Dubose, Diggs’ press secretary, agreed when questioned by the JTA, that there was a “contrast” between the Black Caucus statement of March 21 and the steering committee resolution of March 24. She said the Black Congressional Caucus “operates independently” of the National Black Political Convention and indicated that the latter’s revised resolution was a compromise reached in the interests of unity. Mrs. Dubose said it was adopted by a hand vote and that she didn’t know whether Diggs voted for it. According to Mfuasi, the revised version won unanimous approval.
Diggs’ office told the JTA that the steering committee convened in executive session March 24 expressly to reach a position of unity on two “controversial” resolutions adopted at the Gary convention, one on busing and the other on Israel. The meeting was presided over by Diggs, Hatcher and the third co-chairman, Imamu Baraka of Newark, N.J. It was attended by the state chairman and representatives of the National Black Political Convention.
OAU, UN RESOLUTIONS ‘VALID’
The revised resolution declared support of the Organization for African Unity as the official representative body speaking for Africans on that continent. It resolved that the position of the OAU on Israel and a recent resolution adopted by the United Nations Human Rights Commission condemning Israel for the alleged mistreatment of Arabs in the occupied territories were “fair and valid.”
The revised resolution endorsed “the OAU’s position calling for condemnation of the Israeli government for its expansionist policy and forceful occupation of the sovereign territory of another state; for measures to be taken to alleviate the suffering and to improve the position of the Palestinian people; and for support of the struggle of the Palestinian people for self-determination.”
The resolution also called for “concurrence in the UN Commission on Human Rights’ position that Israel rescind and desist from all practices affecting the demographic structure and physical character of the occupied territories and the rights of their inhabitants.” The JTA learned that Walter E. Fauntroy, the delegate from Washington, D.C. proposed that the revised version be subject to further revision by various state delegates up to April 22.
A formal document, to be known as the Black Agenda, is to be ratified by the steering committee in Greensboro, N.C. on May 6 and will be released May 19. The Black Agenda, incorporating the Israel resolution was described to the JTA as a statement defining the issues around which Blacks must rally “in 1972 and beyond.”
Mfuasi clarified a report from news sources in Newark, N.J. which indicated that the steering committee meeting attended by Hatcher and Diggs was held there this week. The JTA carried that report which had appeared in the Newark Star Ledger with no dateline, an indication that it was a local story. Mfuasi said the Star Ledger item stemmed from a press release he had sent out.
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The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
