Religious Jews Called Upon to Oppose U.S. Policy of Arming Arabs

The American rabbinate was called upon today to urge their worshippers to be prepared “to oppose and reject by all proper means” the U.S. policy of providing arms to the Arab states since this policy “threatens the lives of our co-religionists in Israel and the vital interests of the United States and of the free world in the Near East.”

A resolution to this effect was adopted here today at an extraordinary session of the Mizrachi national executive attended by more than 100 leaders of the religious Zionist movement in this country. Rabbi Mordecai Kirshblum, president of the Mizrachi Organization of America, told the gathering that the U.S. program of proposed arms aid to the Arab states was “an immoral policy which penalizes peaceful intentions demonstrated by Israel and rewards aggressive acts by the Arab states.”

Emphasizing that their resolution expresses the sentiments of the 70, 000 members of the Mizrachi organization in this country, the delegates called on the American rabbinate “during the remaining Jewish Holy Days, ” to lead their congregations “in prayer to the end that the hearts of those of our leaders who are determined to give arms to the Arab aggressors will be reached and this dangerous policy reconsidered.”

The resolution also asked the Jewish spiritual leaders “to arouse every worshipper to the perils to Israel’s security arising from the refusal of the Arab states to make peace” and to “clarify from their pulpits the dangers of the proposals of our Government to provide huge quantities of modern arms to Arab leaders who have never concealed their determination to destroy our beloved Holy Land.”