Israel, condemning “the vicious campaign of indiscriminate murder directed against the Jewish people,” urged the United Nations today not to stand by “in silence” or weigh the propriety of action until it is “too late.” Ambassador Yosef Tekoah, addressing the General Assembly’s Sixth (Legal) Committee, declared:
“What is required at this stage is a concerted effort to stamp out these atrocities before they plunge mankind into barbarism….Jewish blood is being shed again in brutal outrages in the Middle East, in Europe and elsewhere. For Israel this is not a time for serenity or silence….In a way reminiscent of the Nazi atrocities against the Jews of Europe, Jewish people in various parts of the globe have been earmarked for physical destruction.”
5-POINT PLAN TO ERADICATE TERRORISM
Tekoah proposed a five-point plan for “effective steps for the eradication of this scourge.” He said the Assembly should “unequivocally condemn international terrorism; call on all States to refrain from giving any assistance, shelter or protection to perpetrators of terror acts; call on all States to extradite such criminals or to bring them to trial; convene a conference which would prepare an international convention for submission to the 28th session of the General Assembly, (and) call on all States to become parties to existing conventions on the prevention and punishment of international terrorism.”
Fixing the blame for Mideast terrorism, Tekoah asserted that “No semantic contortions can remove the stigma of savage bloodshed from the Arab terrorist organizations and the Arab governments which are backing them.” Paralleling Arab and Nazi policies, Tekoah charged that “Not since the days of Hitler have Jews been the target of a campaign of premeditated slaughter,” but “Arab terrorism is doing that again.”
The Arab delegations are trying to “sabotage” the debate here on terrorism, Tekoah charged, but “there can be no silence about this sabotage.” He declared: “The key to combating international terrorism is in the action of governments taken individually and in cooperation with others….” The Arab governments must be persuaded to “prevent all activities and eliminate within their borders all bases, headquarters and hideouts of organizations engaged in international terrorism. The Arab States must be made to realize that they will not be allowed to remain the source of a plague spreading all over the world.”
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.
