Calling his first official visit to Albany to meet with New York State government leaders “productive” and “enjoyable,” Joseph Kedar. Consul General of Israel in New York, told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency that the leaders questions focussed on stability in the Middle East, particularly in Iran and Saudi Arabia.
“Israel is ready and willing to accept any Jew from Iran who wishes to come, Kedar told the JTA, “and we have taken all necessary measures regarding lodging, absorption and import taxes, in order to help them. As Golda (Meir) said, now that Israel exists, there is no need for any Jew to feel that he has no place to go. Every Jew has Israel as his land.” Kedar referred specifically to a new import law that allows Iranian Jews to import all of their goods, especially carpets, tax-free until they are resold.
He also said that 1100 apartments have been made available. “Unfortunately,” he added, “many Iranian Jews have a ‘can’t happen here attitude similar to the German Jews of the 1930s, and they don’t want to leave Iran.” Regarding the oil situation, Kedar said that Israel gets only ?0 percent of its oil from Iran and Israel is prepared to “cope.”
Accompanied by Albert J. Abrams, executive director of the National Association of Jewish State Legislators, Kedar briefed Assembly leaders of both parties at a luncheon hosted by Speaker Stanley Fink. He also briefed the Senate Democratic Caucus. Kedar then met with Gov. Hugh Carey at the Executive Mansion, and Abrams said of this meeting that “Carey demonstrated an intimate knowledge of Israel and a sympathetic approach to Israel’s problems.”
RESOLUTION ON STATUTE OF LIMITATIONS
Kedar was introduced from the floor of the Senate by Majority Leader Warren Anderson and from the podium of the Assembly by Fink. The Consul General said that he was present in the Senate Chamber when a resolution was approved protesting the expiration of the West German statute of limitations on the prosecution of Nazi war criminals.
“Faced with the enormity of the Holocaust, the majesty of the law must be inflexible and uncompromising,” Kedar said. “The statute of limitations cannot apply for these crimes, and the law cannot allow itself any loopholes. If there is to be leniency, it should come from the judges, not the law.” A similar resolution was also approved by the Assembly.
In addition to his meetings with government officials, Kedar, former curator of the Museum of the Diaspora in Israel, had the opportunity to tour the New York State Museum. He marveled at the “incredible wealth of natural resources in New York State, so different from Israel’s.”
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