White House Press Secretary Ron Nessen announced today that the Defense Department has ordered an inquiry into alleged discrimination against Jews abroad. He said, under questioning by newsmen on reports that the U.S. Army Engineers Corps did not employ Jews on assignments in Saudi Arabia, that “the Defense Secretary has already asked all military services to look into the practices across the board to see if discriminatory practices are being followed.”
Nessen reiterated President Ford’s statement at a Hollywood, Fla. press conference yesterday that the Justice, Commerce and State Departments also had instructions to investigate allegations of discrimination against American Jews involving Arab countries to see if laws were being violated. Asked if the President would immediately order an end to the alleged practices, Nessen replied, “It’s not something where you can pick up a phone and bark an order.” He reaffirmed the President’s statement yesterday denouncing all forms of discrimination, saying that view applied in general to the Administration policy.
Meanwhile, Treasury Secretary William Simon cancelled a Joint press conference he was to have held today with the Saudi Arabian Finance Minister, Muhammad Ibn Ali Aba Al-Khail, to report on the results of a two-day meeting of the U.S.-Saudi Arabian Joint Commission on Economic Cooperation. A spokesman for the Secretary said the press briefing was cancelled because Simon had an appointment in New York, But according to informed sources, the current furore over the Arab boycott of Jewish-owned banks and firms doing business with Israel was the reason for the cancellation.
JTA has documented Jewish history in real-time for over a century. Keep our journalism strong by joining us in supporting independent, award-winning reporting.
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.
