The National Jewish Community Relations Advisory Council (NJCRAC) welcomed Israel’s March 18 declaration that it intends to refrain from entering into new defense contracts with South Africa. "We are further gratified that Israel has announced its intention to continue reducing its ties to South Africa and to consider additional measures," NJCRAC said in a statement.
The national umbrella organization also called upon the seven governments that were identified in a State Department report earlier this month as having circumvented the United Nations arms embargo against South Africa "to immediately begin the process of disengaging from military relations with South Africa." The seven named are France, Italy, Israel, West Germany, Great Britain, The Netherlands and Switzerland.
Noting that NJCRAC has since 1966 condemned apartheid and "the oppression of 14 million non-whites in the Republic of South Africa by a totalitarian government," and has supported the Comprehensive Anti-Apartheid Acts of 1985 and 1986, the statement added:
"We join with others in the community of conscience to insist that all nations, including those Arab states which provide South Africa with the petroleum which fuels the apartheid regime on a daily basis, act now to press the government of South Africa to abandon the odious policy of apartheid and move quickly toward non-racial democratic government."
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