At an emergency meeting of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations held today under the chairmanship of Louis H. Weinstein, president of the National Community Relations Advisory Council, the following statement was unanimously adopted:
“We express our disappointment and concern at the resolution of the United Nations Security Council of April 9th, censuring Israel for self-defensive measures against Syria. This resolution, regrettably sponsored by our government, failed to reflect the facts of persistent Syrian provocations, the declared Arab objective of liquidating Israel, and continuous threats to the citizens of Israel and to its territorial integrity. We find almost incomprehensible this failure to distinguish between acts of aggression and self-defense.
“Peace in the Middle East, as elsewhere in the world, has long been a declared objective of United States policy. Pursuant to that policy, our government has maintained long-standing and firm friendship with Israel and with the Arab states. In our view, the Security Council resolution may very well encourage further acts of aggression by the Arab states instead of promoting peace.
“The role of the United Nations is to help achieve the goal of peace everywhere in the world. To attain that goal, we express the hope that our government will use its power and prestige, and its position of moral and political leadership in the free world, to make it indisputably clear that continued acts of Arab belligerency will not be tolerated in the community of nations.”
Associated with these views are the following organizations: American Israel Public Affairs Committee, American Jewish Congress, American Zionist Council, American Trade Union Council for Labor Israel, B’nai B’rith, Hadassah, Jewish Agency for Israel, Jewish Labor Committee, Jewish War Veterans of the United States, Labor Zionist Movement, Mizrachi-Hapoel Hamizrachi, National Community Relations Advisory Council, National Council of Jewish Women, National Council of Young Israel, Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations of America, Union of American Hebrew Congregations, United Synagogue of America, Zionist Organization of America.
Help ensure Jewish news remains accessible to all. Your donation to the Jewish Telegraphic Agency powers the trusted journalism that has connected Jewish communities worldwide for more than 100 years. With your help, JTA can continue to deliver vital news and insights. Donate today.
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.
