The International League Against Anti-Semitism and Racism insisted today that Foreign Minister Michel Debre open a thorough investigation into reports that Armand Berard, French Ambassador to the United Nations, made an anti-Semitic remark in the presence of a number of journalists at UN headquarters in New York. M. Debre denied the reports Saturday at a meeting with the League’s president, Pierre Bloch. But M. Bloch said today that his group had new reports which tended to confirm the earlier one.
The League based its charge against M. Berard on wire service reports which, it said, quoted the French diplomat as saying that “Jewish gold” was responsible for the downfall of President Charles de Gaulle. The remark was alleged to have been made in the UN delegates lounge on the night of April 27-28, after French voters rejected Gen. de Gaulle in a national referendum. A Reuters dispatch from the UN the day after the referendum quoted a French diplomat, later identified as M. Berard, as having said that “large sums” had been spent by “pro-Israel circles” to defeat Gen. de Gaulle. M. Berard represents France at the Big Four Mideast talks now going on in New York.
Israelis and many Jews abroad were angered by Gen. de Gaulle’s arms embargo against Israel and his openly pro-Arab policies. They also blame him for engineering the Big Four talks which Israel bitterly opposes. M. Debre said at a Cabinet meeting Saturday that France’s Mideast policy will “remain unchanged” despite Gen. de Gaulle’s departure from political leadership. He said France will continue to pursue its efforts for a Mideast peace “as it has done up to now” and that its overall policies toward Israel and the Arab states will remain the same so long as the present Government is in power.
The League Against Anti-Semitism and Racism, at its 26th annual conference yesterday, urged French Presidential candidates to make public their position on racism and anti-Semitism. The League said it was considering sending detailed questionnaires on the subject to all candidates.
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