Israel, U.S. Oppose Human Rights Resolution Aimed Israel

A resolution accusing Israel of violating human rights in the Arab territories it occupied in last June’s war, was adopted by a 42 to 5 vote at the International Conference on Human Rights. The resolution was sponsored by Saudi Arabia, Spain and Sudan and amended by 12 Arab states. It carried the full weight of the Soviet and Arab blocs and their supporters among Asian and African countries. The United States, Israel, Belgium, Costa Rica and Uruguay voted against the resolution and 24 countries abstained. Ambassador Comay, chief of the Israeli delegation, assailed the resolution and declared that Israel “will not pay it respect or any serious attention.”

Rejected by a 33 to 28 vote, with nine abstentions, was a draft resolution sponsored by The Netherlands and Uruguay which would have had the conference study the rights of civilians in areas of conflict and occupied territories but on a broad basis without singling out any country or region for censure. Israel voted for the draft.

The Soviet Government’s reneging on its promise to permit Russian Jews to emigrate for the purpose of reuniting families was assailed by an Israeli delegate, Judge Zeev Zeltner, who noted that Soviet Premier Kosygin declared in Paris on Dec. 23, 1966 that Jews would be allowed to leave the country for family reunification. A few hundred emigration certificates were granted, but after last June’s Six-Day War the practice came to an abrupt halt, Zeltner said.

“Family reunification is a humanitarian action outside the scope of politics,” he continued. “It has nothing to do with whether Israel was an aggressor, which it was not or a victor, which it was. Are old people, infants or invalids capable of contributing to Israel’s war effort?”