Major Jewish organizations from all continents are playing a very active role at the second United Nations Conference of Non-Governmental Organizations Interested in the Eradication of Prejudice and Discrimination, which is taking place here.
Among the 190 non-governmental organizations from all over the world are: the Consultative Council of Jewish Organizations, which represents the American Jewish Committee, the Anglo-Jewish Association, and Alliance Israelite Universelle; the Coordinating Board of Jewish Organizations, representing B’nai B’rith, the Board of Deputies of British Jews, and the South African Board of Jewish Deputies; the World Jewish Congress; Agudath Israel; the World OSE Union; the Women’s International Zionist Organization; and the World Union of Jewish Students.
Today, Moses Moskowitz, of New York, secretary general of the Consultative Council of Jewish Organizations, urged at the conference that the United Nations designate an “attorney general for Human Rights. ” The plan has been under consideration since 1950. Mr. Moskowitz also urged all non-governmental organizations to stand firm against all pressures which would tend to undermine the universality of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights adopted by the United Nations in 1948.
On behalf of the World Jewish Congress, Dr. Maurice Perlzweig charged that “under current legislation in English-speaking countries, the spread of anti-Semitism is guaranteed by constitutional rights. ” He pleaded for “radical changes which would, however, still assure freedom of expression. ” As an example of this type of legislation, Dr. Perlzweig cited anti-racial discrimination legislation now pending in the Parliament of West Germany.
Barnett Janner, president of the Board of Deputies of British Jews, asked the conference to seek means whereby non-governmental organizations would combat prejudice by influencing public education. Among the committees named by the conference is one on legal techniques, headed by Dr. Gerhard Riegner, of the World Jewish Congress.
One resolution before the conference calls for the creation of a world documentation center to collect and distribute contributions in the field of the fight against discrimination. The resolution also calls for a world meeting of specialists in this field. Jewish, Catholic and Protestant organizations are sponsoring this resolution, which would ask UNESCO to form such a documentation center.
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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.
