Israel requested United Nations Secretary-General U Thant today to “take appropriate measures” for action in regard to the “persecution and degrading treatment of the Jews in certain Arab countries,” naming specifically Egypt, Syria and Iraq.
The request was voiced In a talk with Mr. Thant by Israel’s envoy here, Ambassador Gideon Rafael, who was accompanied by his deputy, Shabtai Rosenne. They told the U.N. chief that Israel’s Government views the mistreatment of Jews in the Arab countries as a matter of “grave humanitarian concern.”
An Israeli spokesman said that his Government has recently received from most reliable sources authentic reports about the deplorable conditions of Jews in those countries. The reports concerned imprisonment of Jews, some held incommunicado; deprivation of decent livelihood and physical threats.
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