Prime Minister John Diefenbaker assailed last night “the continued harassment and oppression of religious institutions” in the Soviet Union. “Why should a powerful nation stoop to deprive its citizens of their religion?” he asked. “What justification can there be to deprive Jews of matzohs for Passover.?”
The Prime Minister made his remarks at a banquet at which he was presented with the Canadian Histadrut Award. Messages honoring the Prime Minister were read from Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion of Israel and Mrs. Golda Meir, Israel’s Foreign Minister.
The Canadian Prime Minister spoke of the close ties of friendship between Canada and Israel and remarked that “as Israel Ambassador Herzog will confirm, Canada and Israel have worked closely at the United Nations in the cause of world peace.”
Discussing the announcement of imposition of death penalties on Soviet citizens for conviction of economic crimes, the Canadian Prime Minister said that “speculation and corruption are apparently so rife in some parts of the Soviet society that the authorities can find no solution but the death penalty for citizens for these offenses.”
He declared that such treatment seems hardly fitting for a nation which claims a high and steady growth in living standards. I share the sense of alarm and outrage that people of the Jewish faith have been singled out for harsh punishment as an example to others.”
“I believe no opportunity should be lost to draw public attention to discrimination whenever it appears,” the Prime Minister stated. “The Soviet leaders must not be allowed to conclude that the world outside is indifferent. Silence in the face of injustice will be taken as acquiescence.”
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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.
