Israel last night denounced as slanderous and invalid a resolution passed by the Human Rights Commission charging Israel with “war crimes and an affront to humanity” in its administration of the Arab territories. The resolution also demanded that Israel restore what it called the human, religious and property rights of the residents of the territories, and asserted that Israeli settlements in or annexations of the territories were forbidden.
Israeli Deputy Ambassador Jacob Doron, pointing to the resolution which sought to link Israeli practices today and Nazi practices during World War II, said: “The very proposal is an affront to the memory of the six million Jews who lost their lives in the holocaust of Europe.”
The Israeli Mission added in a statement that the resolution was “devoid of any moral, political or juridical validity,” having been supported by a minority of the commission, and more than that by a minority composed of Arab and pro-Arab states that have maintained “complete disregard for the merits of the question at issue.”
RUSSIAN, ARAB PROPAGANDA EXERCISE
Informed Western sources called the resolution “a propaganda exercise by the Russians and the Arabs” and said it would have as much effect as a similar measure last year, which has never been acted upon. “The same thing will happen now,” one diplomat remarked. He added that this year’s text was “much worse” and “more unacceptable” to such an influential power as the US, which last year abstained on the similar but weaker text.
The Israelis singled out Egypt, Iraq and Pakistan, declaring that their “slandering legitimate security measures undertaken by other states to prevent crimes of violence is tantamount to unrepentant criminals’ complaining that the measures aimed at preventing their crimes of violence and murder are too firm and too effective.” The success of the resolution, Israel concluded, represents “another severe blow to the (world) organization.”
The measure’s sponsors were Egypt, India, Lebanon, Pakistan and Tanzania. The vote was 15-4, with 11 abstentions. The opponents were the United States, Guatemala, the Netherlands and Zaire (formerly the Congo). France voted for the resolution; Britain abstained.
JTA has documented Jewish history in real-time for over a century. Keep our journalism strong by joining us in supporting independent, award-winning reporting.
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.
