Observers here today conceded a victory for the Soviet Union and the Arab bloc in the General Assembly’s Third Committee’s vote to omit reference to anti-Semitism in its draft convention on the elimination of all forms of religious intolerance.
By a vote of 87 to 2 with 7 abstentions, the committee accepted a proposal by the representative of Upper Volta that it decide not to mention any specific example of religious intolerance in the convention. The negative votes were cast by Israel and the United States.
The vote came after two weeks of wrangling in the committee which the Arab and Soviet representatives at times turned into a forum for invective against Israel. They charged that inclusion of a reference to anti-Semitism was a “trick” by Israel to forestall any criticism of her actions. The Israeli representative, Mrs. Zena Harman, suggested, as a compromise, that the term “anti-Judaism” be substituted for anti-Semitism. But the representatives of some Asian and African states supported by non-bloc members such as Eire, maintained that the international convention should be a universal statement against religious intolerance and not specify any particular religion.
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