Demands for United Nations action on behalf of free exercise of cultural rights by all ethnic and minority groups in all countries were made here today by an Israeli, a Frenchman and a Finn in addresses before the Subcommission on Prevention of Discrimination and Protection of Minorities.
In accordance with the group’s rules, none of the speakers named any member state of the U.N. where such rights are being violated. But all made it clear that their remarks were aimed at the Soviet Union. One of the speakers, V. V. Saario, of Finland, used the term “cultural genocide” in his stricture, a phrase often used by Jewish organizations and others who protest against denial of cultural rights to Jews in the Soviet Union.
The other speakers on the subject, during a debate on genocide, were Dr. Meir Rosenne, Israel’s alternate delegate to the subcommission, and Pierre Juvigny, who represents France. Dr. Rosenne told the subcommission that the U.N. ought “to find some way to include these cultural rights in an international agreement,” M. Juvigny referred to a convention against discrimination in education, adopted by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, and said it was “highly regrettable that, in some parts of the world, these prerogatives are not recognized.”
The subcommission voted to retain a reference to religious hostility in a draft convention despite objections from Yacov Ostrovsky, the Soviet representative, who said the reference to religious hostility was not important and it should be eliminated.
Dr. Rosenne, the Israeli representative, disagreed. He told the subcommission that “a large Jewish community” which was considered by some experts both a nationality and a religious group, was the target of a campaign of hatred and denigation by the press of that country. This was understood to be a reference to Soviet Jews.
Dr. Rosenne emphasized that in spite of specific laws in that country punishing incitement to hatred there was no implementation of those laws as was indicated by the fact that the press of that country was carrying out its anti-Jewish campaign without interference. The item before the subcommission concerned measures to prevent incitement to hatred and violence. The subcommission voted to retain the reference to religious hostility for further consideration at the next meeting of the subcommission in 1967.
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.
