North African Countries Urged to Reconsider Their Policies on Jews

Expressing hope that the situation of the Jews in North Africa “will be somewhat different than that of the Jews in Arab countries,” Mr. Carvalho pointed out that North African Jewry has a history of centuries during which “Jews gained positions of respect and authority.” He reported that the Moroccan Government has now withdrawn permission granted earlier for Jewish emigration to Israel.

Most of Morocco’s 200,000 Jews, he said, are “desperately poor, and their future if bleak. “Jewish welfare organisations are doing “wonderful work,” there, he stated, “but it is almost a bottomless pit. The Jews, if they want to join their brethren in Israel, should be allowed to go there.” said the leader.

Tunisia and Libya, he reported, are “following the pattern of newly-independent North African countries. In both these countries, existing Jewish community organizations-have been abandoned, and some sort of communal committees have been set up by the governments.”

Mr. Carvalho reported that Tunisia and Libya insist that material help brought for Jews in those countries be distributed to non-Jews also, on the grounds that, otherwise. Jews would only “continue to be regarded as different from the general community.”

“Such an attitude,” said Mr. Carvalho, “is either liberalism gone mad, or a connivance at increasing the hardships of the Jews in those countries.” The countries, he said, should be warned that [hey are fanning prejudice and hatred, which already exists in their countries, and which could impede their future as free and democratic states.