Urgent action on the part of the United Nations to prevent the adoption of drastic anti-Jewish laws in Arab countries has ? asked by the World Jewish Congress in a note submitted to the U.N. Economic and ?al Council.
Emphasizing that the Jews living in Arab countries face “extreme and immediate danger,” the World Jewish Congress asks that the United Nations open an immediate investigation into the situation of the240,000 Jews living in the countries ?ch are members of the Arab League. Attached to the memorandum, submitted by the congress was the text of the following draft Law prepared by the Arab League for ?mulgation in Arab countries:
“1. Beginning with (date) all Jewish citizens of (name of country) will be considered as members of the Jewish minority state of Palestine and will have to register with the authorities of the region where in they reside, giving their names, exact number of members in their families, their addresses, the names of their ?ks and the amounts of their deposits in these banks. This formality is to be accomplished within seven days.
“2. Beginning with (date) bank accounts of Jews will be frozen. These funds ?l be utilized in part or in full to finance the movement of resistance to Zionist ?itions in Palestine.
“3. Beginning with (date) only Jews who are subjects of foreign countries’. ?l be considered as ‘neutrals. These will be compelled either to return to their countries, with a minimum of delay, or be considered as Arabs and obliged to accept ?vice with the Arab army. “4. Jews who accept active service in Arab armies or place themselves at ?e disposal of those armies will be considered ‘Arabs.’ “5. Every Jew whose activities reveal that he is an active Zionist will be considered as a political prisoner and will be interned in places specifically degraded for that purpose by police authorities or by the government. His financial sources, instead of “being frozen, will be confiscated.
“6. Any Jew who will be able to prove that his activities are anti-Zionist ?ll be free to act as he likes, provided that he declares his readiness, to join the Arab armies. “7. The foregoing (par. 6) dose not mean that those Jews will not be submitted to paragraphs l and 2 of this law.”
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.
