The Arab and Communist blocs have called on UNESCO to indirectly brand Israel as “racist.” The Yugoslav delegation, acting on behalf of the 77-state group of non-aligned nations, submitted an amendment yesterday asking UNESCO to include a reference to the General Assembly’s resolution equating Zionism with racism when drafting its own declaration on the fight “against war propaganda, racism and apartheid.”
Discussion on the Yugoslav amendment was postponed at Italy’s request. The Italian delegate, speaking on behalf of the nine-member European Economic Community countries, asked for a 24-hour postponement to enable delegations to receive instructions from their various governments.
Diplomatic sources here said, however, that all the nine EEC delegations have already been instructed to vote against the Yugoslav resolution and the postponement was asked to enable their delegations to try and win over a number of African and Latin American delegations.
The UNESCO conference now meeting here is drawing up a draft declaration for the general conference meeting next October in Nairobi. Yesterday’s debate was marked by a violent attack on Israel and on world news media by the PLO delegate, Ibrahim Sues.” The Palestinian said that world press organs have convinced the world that the Jews were entitled to Palestine while Jewish propaganda has taught “Jews and Israelis racial hatred towards all the Arabs in the region.”
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