Rabbis Assail Pompidou, Praise Nixon and Pledge Support to Soviet Jews

Rabbi Harold Saperstein, elected president of the New York Board of Rabbis at the group’s 89th annual meeting here today, condemned France for its “callous disregard of ethical responsibility” in selling 110 aircraft to Libya while reneging on its commitment to sell Israel military equipment, and said that the Board of Rabbis will take the initiative “in calling on the whole Jewish community of New York to mobilize itself for appropriate demonstrations wherever French President Pompidou may appear.” M. Pompidou will visit New York in early March. “Against this patent moral duplicity,” the rabbi said, “we point the finger of bitter condemnation. As at the time of the Dreyfus trial, the cry of Zola rings out again, J’accuse.”

The rabbi, urging President Nixon and the State Department to tell President Pompidou that the sale to Libya has “aroused” the feelings of the American people, and calling on public officials to refrain from participating in any reception honoring him in New York City, said that “we will not stand by in silence while another holocaust is prepared for the remnants of Jewry who have at last found a home in Israel.” In his acceptance address, Rabbi Saperstein also praised President Nixon for his pledge to provide military equipment for Israel. “This assurance must not be compromised,” he said. “We remind the spokesmen of our government that even-handed treatment does not mean the same treatment for the criminal and his victim,” he added.

Turning to the Soviet Union, the rabbi said that he was “stirred” by the evidence of “courageous identification” thousands of Jewish youths in the Soviet Union have with Jewish life, and by the recent proclamations of Jews in Georgia, Moscow, and other sections of the Soviet Union of their desire to emigrate to Israel. “The silent Jews are finally speaking out,” he noted. “To them we call out, ‘Chazak v’ematz–be very strong and very courageous.’ On our part we pledge that we will not forget them.”

The rabbi also said that the Board of Rabbis and its lay advisory council will set up a committee to deal with “responsible” black leaders and public officials on racial problems; that the Board will set up an Institute on Drug Addiction and will urge synagogues and churches to open facilities for educational programs in this field; and that the Board demands that Mayor John V. Lindsay and Governor Nelson A. Rockefeller impose emergency measure to meet the effects of the New York City cemetery strike and that it will volunteer its services after the strike to assure dignified burials. Rabbi Saperstein has been the spiritual leader of Temple Emanu-El of Lynbrook, N.Y. for 36 years. He succeeds Rabbi Gilbert Klaperman, who was elected Chairman of the Board of Governors. The New York Board of Rabbis includes the Orthodox, Conservative and Reform Rabbinate of the New York Metropolitan area.