Sen. Frank Church (D.Idaho), chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, called for more decisive action on the part of the government and Congress to meet the growing threat of the Arab boycott against Israel. Church was the principal speaker at the closing session Sunday of a three-day Founding National Conference of New Leadership of Israel Bonds in Washington.
More than 200 young Jewish leaders from the U.S. and Canada took part in forming a permanent nationwide organization of concerned young men and women who are becoming a force of growing importance in the Israel Bond campaign in many parts of North America. Those who took part in founding the New Leadership Division have had an active role in the Bond sales program in more than 40 cities.
Asserting that religious discrimination runs contrary to America’s great tradition of religious freedom and should have absolutely no place in the free commerce of the U.S., Church demanded full disclosure of those corporations which participate in restrictive trade practices against Israel, companies which do business with Israel and firms which are owned by or employ American Jews. He pointed out that he had introduced legislation in the Senate to make public the names of those companies which discriminate against Israel and American Jewry. The passage of this bill, he said, would discourage U.S. firms from doing business with the Arabs on the basis of discrimination.
RAPS POLICY IN EXPEDIENCY
Israeli Ambassador Simcha Dinitz told the assembled group that Israel relies on Jewish solidarity now more than ever before, to show the world that it is not isolated and does not stand alone. Referring to the use of petrodollars by the Arabs to influence votes at the United Nations, Dinitz declared that “Israel will not pay for votes in order to win any nation’s favor. Some of the nations that are taking an anti-Israel stand don’t really mean it. They are doing it because it is politically expedient. Israel does not believe in expediency. We believe in the strength of our own convictions,” he stated.
Just because Jews are a minority, “we do not have to walk with our heads low,” Dinitz said. “Although we are few, we stand erect and are proud of our heritage. We must remain strong not only to defend ourselves but also to maintain peace. For we know that the Arabs will only negotiate with an indestructible Israel.”
During the course of the conference, the participants voted to establish a National Cabinet of the New Leadership Division of Israel Bonds, with Michael Scharf of New York as its national chairman.
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