Secretary of State Dulles yesterday advised B’nai B’rith that the State Department will take “formal diplomatic action” in an effort to curb Arab nations from imposing discriminatory restrictions on American citizens of the Jewish faith.
A U. S. Senate resolution last month, which called such discrimination incompatible with American principles and demanded “every reasonable effort” by the United States Government to seek equal treatment abroad for its citizens, “has afforded the Department of State the opportunity to continue its efforts to impress on the Arab states the sentiments of this country,” Mr. Dulles declared in a letter to Philip M. Klutznick, president of B’nai B’rith.
The Senate resolution, the Secretary of State added, has been circulated to U. S. Missions in Arab States where American representatives “have been directed to take every appropriate opportunity to emphasize the principal of equality of all Americans and to seek its compliance by the Arab states.”
The secretary’s enunciation of present State Department policy and his assurances that the foreign service was “alert to the necessity of protecting the rights of American citizens throughout the world” were contained in a 700-word statement to B’nai B’rith, Mr. Klutznick presented the statement yesterday to the B’nai B’rith’s administrative committee, opening a two-day meeting at camp B’nai B’rith here.
“Our missions abroad, and particularly those in the countries of the Arab world, are under standing instructions to bear in mind the importance of this matter to the people of the United States,” Mr. Dulles declared.
B’nai B’rith has been making representations to the State Department on this issue since August 1954, in exchanges of correspondence with the Department and through personal conferences between Mr. Dulles and Mr. Klutznick. The Jewish group has argued that the policy of conceding the right of Arab nations to impose discriminatory sanctions on American Jews meant” recognizing by default the anti-Semitic attitude of certain Arab nations.”
CITES SOVEREIGNTY OF ARAB STATES; BLAMES ARAB-ISRAEL DISPUTE
In his statement to B’nai B’rith, Mr. Dulles attributed the restrictions to the Arab-Israel dispute. “In some countries where, as a result of the Palestine conflict, the discriminatory policies are of recent origin,” he said, “we have been able to make headway in obtaining the mitigation or removal of regulations and practices discriminating against American citizens.”
Mr. Dulles added: “I assure you we will continue these efforts in other countries along several lines, including formal diplomatic action, in an attempt to reduce tensions arising out of the Palestine hostilities and to raise standards of social development and human understanding.”
The Secretary said that the State Department’s efforts to curb Arab discrimination against American Jews “are obviously circumscribed by the fundamental principle that sovereign states have the right to control their affairs in such manner as they deem to be in their own best interest.
“International law and practice recognize the fundamental right of a sovereign state to determine whether and under what conditions aliens may enter its territory. In considering this problem, then, we are obliged to recognize that any attempt by this country to force our views on a foreign nation would be considered intervention in the domestic affairs of that nation and, therefore, greatly resented.”
Mr. Klutznick told B’nai B’rith officials assembled here that “the emphasis in Mr. Dulles’ statement on affirmative action by the State Department, particularly his reference to taking formal diplomatic action if necessary, suggests an improvement over our government’s previous position in the matter.”
“However,” Mr. Klutznick said, “this position falls short of giving equal protection abroad to all American citizens. There is historical precedence for accomplishing this by appropriate action in a manner that does no violence to the offending nation’s sovereignty, but merely insures the integrity of American sovereignty.” He added that B’nai B’rith would “seek to pursue the matter in personal consultation with Mr. Dulles at a more propitious time than the present when the Secretary is involved in the tense situation affecting the Suez Canal.”
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.
