Rep. Elizabeth Holtzman (D. NY) stated that the four-week-old Iranian hostage situation should provide a vivid illustration to Americans of the kind of crisis the State of Israel has repeatedly faced from neighboring Arab states since its inception.
Speaking at the Royal Orleans Hotel, Holtzman said, “The Iranian crisis shows us Israel’s plight. Americans have been faced with the hostage situation only a few weeks,” she said, “while Israel has lived for years with enemies on her borders who daily vow to destroy the Jewish homeland.”
Holtzman and Coretta King, widow of the late civil rights leader, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., received Israel’s Eleanor Roosevelt Humanities Award at the fourth annual All-Israel Fashion Show/Luncheon, sponsored by the New Orleans State of Israel Bond Committee.
Holtzman went on to speak of the Palestinian refugees who, she said, live in camps surrounding Israel, unable to become citizens and unwanted by their host nations. The Congresswoman cited as a start example the lack of financial assistance provided by the “oil rich Arab nations,” saying.
“The U.S. has contributed for more towards helping these refugees than the Arab countries who call them brother. The U.S. has contributed $700 million, Saudi Arabia has contributed $33 million, Kuwait $6 million and Yemen $350. What does this tell you about the willingness to use human beings as political pawns?”
Mrs. King said that, while there are people who speak about a polarization between the Black and Jewish communities, “the band of solidarity between us is for stronger than the media suggest.” She cited the words of Martin Luther King that “we are wrapped in the single garment of destiny–not just through history, but an ongoing common struggle for social justice.”
The All-Israel Fashion Show/Luncheon was chaired by Helen Kohlman and Susan Hess under the auspices of the Women’s Division. New Orleans State of Israel Bonds, of which June Cahn is chairman.
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