Hundreds of Defense Contracts May Contain Discriminatory Clauses

Discriminatory provisions in the contract between the Defense Department and a California company it had engaged to train Saudi Arabian troops have been deleted but “hundreds” of other defense contracts may contain similar clauses, the Jewish Telegraphic Agency has learned.

The existence of the clauses in the $77 million contract with the Vinnell Corporation of Alhambra specifically banned the hiring of women and, apparently of Jews, to work in Saudi Arabia was admitted by Defense Department witnesses at a hearing last Thursday before the House Subcommittee on International, Political and Military Affairs headed by Rep. Dante Fascell (D. Fla.).

Benjamin Foreman, associate general counsel at the Defense Department, said provisions of the Vinnell contract were at variance with U.S. laws, and the Pentagon informed the company that its contract was illegal. The sections were then stricken out, he said. While barring Jews was not specifically mentioned, the contract required that Vinnell was not to hire anyone associated with or interested in a country with which Saudi Arabia had no diplomatic relations.

A subcommittee aide told the JTA that the illegal provisions in the Vinnell contract, which are contrary to federal civil rights laws and other laws, raised the question as to how many such phrases may be found in “hundreds of such contracts around the world.”

Meanwhile, the House Government Information and Individual Rights Subcommittee led by Rep. Bella Abzug (D, NY), announced it will hold three days of hearings April 8-10 to examine the effects of the Arab boycott on American laws and citizens. Its emphasis will be on assignment of personnel to Middle East countries by federal government and governmental contractors.