Uno Body Defeats Proposal Which Threatens Curb on Zionist Propaganda in D.p. Camps

The UNO Humanitarian, Social and Cultural Committee today defeated a Yugoslav proposal which some delegates feared would prevent Zionist propaganda from being disseminated in camps for displaced Jews.

This morning the sub-committee named to consider the American compromise proposal on the refuges question–which provides for referring the problem to the Social and Economic Council for action at the next Assembly meeting in September–adopted the plan. It overrode objections by the Yugoslav and Soviet delegates, who asked inclusion of a ban on propaganda in camps against refugees returning to their homelands or against any of the United Nations.

When the sub-committee recommendation and the minority report came before the full committee, Dutch delegate Dr. Hilda Verwey declared that the minority’s proposal would preclude even Zionist propaganda. Some governments, she said, might be opposed to such propaganda, but she objected to depriving Jews of “such a fundamental human right.” Mrs. Eleanor Roosevelt, author of the compromise plan, supported this viewpoint, stating that she was opposed to any measure which would deprive the refugees of free speech.

The Russian delegate, A. Arutrunean, asserted that he had no desire to suppress free speech, but his government wished to curb political intrigues among the refugees. He proposed that the words “political activities” be substituted for “propaganda,” but this amendment did not satisfy opponents of the Yugoslav proposal. The final vote was seventeen to ten.

An interesting sidelight was the fact that the two Arab representatives on the committee split on the issue. The Syrian delegate backed the Yugoslav recommendation, while the Iraqi representative voted against it.