House Committee Adopts Amendment Hitting Arab Boycott Against U.S. Jews

The House Committee on Foreign Affairs today unanimously adopted a resolution, introduced by Democratic Congressman Leonard Farbstein, of New York, requiring the Secretary of State to report annually to the Congress on measures taken by this Government to counter discrimination against American citizens by foreign powers. The measure is aimed at breaking the Arab boycott against American Jews, and is applicable to all funds appropriated by the U.S.A. under its aid programs.

The closed-door committee vote on the resolution, which reiterates that discrimination against Americans on the “basis of race, color or religion is repugnant to our principle,” was 22-0.

Mr. Farbstein, a member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, offered his resolution as an amendment to the Mutual Security Act. It will be incorporated into the House version of the U.S. Foreign Aid Bill, when it is reported out to the full House within the next few weeks. The Senate Foreign Relations Committee, which has not completed marking up its version of the Foreign Aid Bill, reportedly has no similar provision. Both versions of the Foreign Aid Bill will be hammered out in a joint committee conference session.

In a statement following the vote, Mr. Farbstein hailed the committee action as the most stringent declaration yet made by Congress in connection with discrimination against United States citizens. “He said endorsement of his amendment “serves notice again on the Administration, and on all branches of the Executive, that Congress feels keenly about and is disturbed over a situation which has continually been glossed over. The members of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs have again spoken clearly and forcefully in opposition to an intolerable situation which makes second-class citizens of some Americans, he declared.