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Italian Socialists Act on Behalf of Syrian Jews

November 18, 1971
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The Secretary General of the Italian Socialist Party, Glaccomo Mancini, has cabled the Syrian ambassador in Italy to protest against the persecutions of Syrian Jews, including reported arrests of 12 Jews. The Socialist Party has been most active on behalf of the Jewish community of Syria. The Syrian ambassador received the Party’s head of the Foreign Affairs Department, Luciano De Pascalis, who expressed his concern over the news arriving from Damascus.

After leaving the Syrian Embassy, De Pascalis reported that the Ambassador had denied the information concerning the arrests and had invited the Italian Socialist Party to send a delegation to Damascus. De Pascalis retorted that a Socialist delegation would gladly fly to Syria provided it was allowed to assume the role of an enquiry commission on the situation of Syria’s Jews. The ambassador did not respond to this suggestion, De Pascalis said.

A letter of protest was sent last week to the Syrian authorities by Socialist Senator Piero Caleffi. Another cable protesting the arrests of the 12 Jews reportedly held incommunicado in a Damascus jail was sent by Prof. Ricardo Bauer, president of the Italian section of the International League for Human Rights, to Foreign Minister Aldo Moro. Prof. Bauer requested Moro to intervene officially in order to insure the liberation of the 12 Jewish prisoners.

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