Several hundred radical Jewish students protested last night Israeli Foreign Minister Abba Eban’s presentation of the Israel Medal of Valor to California Governor Ronald Reagan. Reagan was honored by the Israel Bond Organization for signing a bill permitting the state controlled finance company to purchase Israeli Bonds. The protest was staged outside the Century Plaza Hotel where the awards dinner was held. Jill Lewis, spokeswoman for the Jewish Radical Community stated that “it is the time for Israel to stop assuming that world Jewry has no moral sensitivity, only parochial interest; no political needs, only blind loyalties. It is time for the Jewish community to cease linking the Jewish homeland to the names and actions of men who perpetuate injustice in the United States.”
The JRC in the past has voiced protest over similar awards to Los Angeles Mayor Sam Yorty and former U.S. Senator George Murphy. A delegation of 10 protestors was allowed to present their position to the Israelis in a meeting with Eytan Ben-Tsur, Eban’s political secretary. Ben-Tsur and local Israeli consulate officials were reported by Lewis to have told the delegation that the government of Israel has nothing to do with issuing the award to Reagan, rather, Lewis said, they were told it was a decision of the Israel Bond Organization. During the dinner, the only reference to politics was made by Bonds chairman Theodore E. Cummings who said: “I am sure that everyone in this room checked their political feeling at the front door.” There were no incidents inside or outside the hotel. A spokesman for the Israel Bond Organization could not be immediately reached for comment.
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