More than 150 people held a demonstration today in front of the Iraqi Mission to protest against the continued harassment of Jews in that country and to demand the release of 13 Jews presently held incommunicado in Baghdad jails. Demonstrators carried placards written in English and Arabic stating, “Release the Jewish prisoners.” The demonstration was organized by the American Committee for Rescue and Rehabilitation of Iraqi Jews.
Several days ago, Gen. Lucius D. Clay (Ret.), chairman of the non-sectarian Committee of Concern for Minorities in Arab Countries, appealed to the United Nations to intercede with the Iraqi government on behalf of the 13 Jews. In its appeal to the UN, Clay stated that eight of the prisoners were arrested last Oct., two in Nov., and three in Dec. Their property has been confiscated and they may be subjected to summary military trials, according to reports, he added.
Clay cited Middle East observers who had reported that the Iraqi government was facing new difficulties in relation to its Kurdish population, as well as a variety of economic and political problems with neighboring countries. “It is feared,” he said; “that the Jews may once again be used as scapegoats to distract public attention from the country’s various problems.” Pointing out that Iraq was a signatory to the UN’s Universal Declaration of Human Rights, General Clay called on the “Iraqi government to halt its arbitrary practices and to put a stop to its policy of discrimination.”
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