Rabbi Maurice N. Eisendrath president of the Union of American Hebrew Congregations, sharply denounced the administration’s renewed bombings of North Vietnam and stated that such action only “dramatizes the bankruptcy of the Nixon Vietnamization policy.” He decried both the bombings and continued killing of soldiers on either side and declared:
“We may be bringing home American young men to these shores, but we have only replaced them by sacrificing the sons of another nation and another color.” Rabbi Eisendrath asked, “Why should a South Vietnamese soldier be any less of a tragedy when killed than an American?”
The religious leader, an opponent of America’s Vietnam policy, said “the time has come once and for all to cease the murder of innocent citizens in the North or South, Americans or Vietnamese. Let us stop retreating behind the ‘save face’ posture of our egos and summon the courage to end the war now.”
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.