The decision by the World Jewish Congress to postpone the meeting of its Plenary Assembly originally scheduled to be held in The Hague from April 28 to May 6 has been termed “a wise decision” by a leading daily but attacked as a capitulation to Arab terror ism by a Jewish weekly.
Dr. Nahum Goldmann, WJC president, informed the Dutch government several days ago that the assembly was postponed because the gathering of some 600 delegates from all over the world created serious practical problems, including problems of security. There was some feeling among top WJC officials that the Dutch government was not in a position to guarantee the safety of all those who were expected to attend especially in view of the fact that the delegates would have filled the hotels in The Hague and would have required additional housing in hotels in Rotterdam.
After apprising Dutch Premier Joop den Uyl of the WJC’s decision, Dr. Goldmann announced that the 50-member Governing Council of the WJC would meet in Switzerland at the end of April and would discuss a number of matters in cluding further arrangements in connection with the postponed assembly. Although there had been some rumor that the assembly would meet in Miami, Dr. Goldmann’s announcement indicated that no new site had been officially announced.
DAILY CALLS IT WISE DECISION
The daily newspaper, “Algemeen Dagblad,” said in an editorial that the postponement of the assembly was “a wise decision” and “in the interest of all those concerned.” It noted that this was especially true now when The Netherlands is vulnerable to Arab terrorist attacks due to the fact that two Palestinian hijackers of a British Airways jet are currently in Dutch custody. The editorial also stated that it would not serve Dutch-Arab relations if The Netherlands extended hospitality to the WJC at this time. The Netherlands is the only European nation currently suffering a total Arab oil boycott for what the Arabs claim was a pro-Israel stand during the Yom Kippur War.
JEWISH PAPER TERMS IT COWARDLY
However, “The Dutch Jewish Weekly” accused the WJC of “bowing to Arab terrorism” for what it termed the “eleventh hour” decision to cancel the assembly. In a lengthy editorial, the periodical declared that the cancellation gives the WJC “an unsympathetic and cowardly” image much to the delight of many Arab terrorist groups. The paper also criticized Dr. Goldmann for having belatedly informed the Dutch government and the Dutch WJC Executive of the cancellation two days after he officially announced it in New York.
According to the weekly, the Dutch authorities would have “been glad to accept the risks involved and take the necessary security measures” to meet them. The editorial noted as late as March 15, three days before Dr. Goldmann made his announcement in New York, Dutch committee chairman Isaacs Zadoks had been assured by Premier den Uyl that Dutch authorities “were capable” of assuring complete security for the assembly participants.
(Meanwhile in Jerusalem, informed sources reported that Leon Dulzin, acting chairman of the Jewish Agency, has informed Dr. Goldmann that if the assembly does take place in Miami he will do all he can to assure that the assembly will be boycotted by Israel. According to the same sources, some WJC leaders expressed criticism of the decision to hold the assembly in The Hague rather than in Jerusalem.)
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