The American Jewish Congress called today for a Congressional investigation of what it termed the Federal Government’s “failure” to take effective action in “preventing growing religious and other discrimination against American citizens by foreign nations.”
The organization’s national administrative and executive committees adopted a resolution at their Joint quarterly meeting this afternoon, urging a “thorough probe of apparent government involvement in the assault on the rights of American citizens by Arab League countries and other lands in Asia and Africa.” The resolution called for a Congressional investigation of these charges:
1. The State Department has entered into a “gentleman’s agreement” with Pakistan not to assign any members of the Jewish faith to American diplomatic or other posts in that country. Similar “understandings,” it was charged, have been entered into with Arab League countries and may have been reached as well with Morocco and Afghanistan.
2. The Defense Department has acceded to an official request by Saudi Arabia that no U.S. Jewish personnel be assigned to the American air base at Dharan,
3. The Agriculture Department has permitted discriminatory ship charter contracts barring American flag ships that have touched at Israel ports from carrying free gifts of American foods and other commodities to Arab countries.
4. The Navy Department has included cancelation clauses in oil cargo contracts with United States shippers which have served to enforce Arab League sanctions against American flag ships which have traded with Israel.
“Individually these acts are evidence of a cancerous condition in which the rights of American citizens are put on the international bargaining counter in exchange for an illusory commercial or diplomatic advantage,” the American Jewish Congress statement declared.
“Together, they make up a disturbing pattern of discrimination including an Administration policy of apparent involvement in the attempt by some foreign governments to impose second class citizenship on American Jews and to penalize Americans of other faiths who wish to trade with Israel,” the statement added.
The statement noted that the Navy had announced cancelation of the so-called Haifa clause but said that this begged the reql question, which, the American Jewish Congress said, was whether or not United States Government policy was in comformity with American standards of non-discrimination for all.
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