“If there is one thing that unites Jews, whether they are Reform, Conservative, or Orthodox, or Sephardim or Ashkenazim, or belong to the right, left, or center, it is that they are first and foremost Jews determined to make sure there will be no more Holocausts.”
The statement, by Israeli Ambassador Meir Rosenne, was made to note the efforts and achievements of B’nai B’rith throughout the post-World War II period on behalf of Jews everywhere.
Addressing B’nai B’rith’s Board of Governors in New York, Rosenne cited the efforts of the Soviet Union to deprive B’nai B’rith of its standing as a non-governmental organization in the United Nations.
The Soviets were defeated, he said, “because they did not understand then–and probably don’t understand now–that all the achievements of the Free World in general, and of the U.S. and Israel in particular, are the results of the work and dedication of individuals and voluntary organizations.”
Rosenne reviewed Israel’s efforts to gain peace with its Arab neighbors. Citing Israel’s yielding of the oil-rich Sinai, the Straits of Tiran, and the towns of Yamit and Ophra as a means of persuading Egypt to sign a treaty with the Jewish nation, he said, “We did it because for the Jewish people, the life of one person is more weighty than billions of dollars.”
MESSAGE TO THE YOUNGER GENERATION
Rosenne offered a message to the young generation of world Jews:
“Be proud of being a Jew and of the achievements of Jewish people and the Jewish state.
“Remember the unique privilege you have of living in a country that not only permits but encourages you to study your history and heritage. Take advantage of Jewish education, for without it there will be no Jewish people a century from now. Remember that the doors of Israel are wide open to you; come live with us and contribute to the development and progress of the Jewish Homeland. Never try to be ‘objective’ or have any sense of guilt when you defend the Jewish people or the State of Israel. Never forget that while we breathe the free air of democracy, our brethren still suffer in the land of the Gulag and in the Arab lands of oppression.
“And finally, when contemplating what is done in and by Israel, never consider yourselves distant spectators, as though before a television screen; think of yourselves as part of us.”
ACTION AGAINST WAR CRIMINALS IN CANADA URGED
Earlier in the three-day semi-annual meeting of the Board of Governors which representatives of 13 countries attended, Elizabeth Holtzman, District Attorney of Brooklyn, NY, called on the Canadian government to bring Nazi war criminals living in Canada to justice.
“In light of the recent report of the Deschenes Commission, and the fact that as many as 3,000 Nazi war criminals live in Canada, the Canadian government should establish a permanent unit, similar to the one in the United States, to prosecute and deport them,” she said.
As a member of Congress several years ago, Holtzman created the Justice Department’s Office of Special Investigations that probes and deports Nazi war criminals living in the United States.
“The presence of Nazi war criminals in Canada is an affront to decent people everywhere,” she declared. Holtzman added that “once forces of hatred and prejudice are unleashed, no one is safe. Our responsibility is to do something about it.”
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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.
