Catholic Group Calls for Halt to Arab Terrorism in Israel and in the Air

The Secretariat for Catholic-Jewish Relations at Seton Hall University issued a statement today assailing the continuing and mounting wave of Arab terrorism “on persons living in or travelling to Israel.” The statement, signed by Rev. Edward H. Flannery, executive director of the Judaeo-Christian Institute at the university, declared that “sympathy must first be extended to the victims of the atrocities and to their loved ones, as well as to the Israeli people that must undergo them.”

The statement added that concern must also be expressed for “sufferings of Arab peoples.” It noted that “although it is not possible to compare the accidental Israeli bombing of an Egyptian scrap metal factory with deliberate attacks on commercial aircraft, market places, or tourist buses, we must deeply regret such bombing and express profound sympathy for the victims.”

(On February 12 Israeli bombers blasted a metal works factory at Abu Zabal, 13 miles north of Cairo killing some 60 civilians and wounding some 70 workers. An Israeli military spokesman said Israel’s policy was to hit only military targets in Egypt and if a civilian area was bombed it was due to a “regrettable error.”)

The Secretariat letter continued, in part, to state “An unequivocal call must be made upon the Arab countries, first and foremost, to do all in their power to put an end to the callous disregard of moral law and human values…To the degree that they condone or aid the actions of the groups responsible, they make themselves accomplices in their crimes. Call must also be made on the world community in its United Nations Organization and in its various national members. Only concerted action of all countries can effectually prevent recurrences of the atrocities…it is fervently to be hoped that both sides of the conflict will exercise greater restraint and flexibility in the pursuit of peace.”