Rabbi Joachim Prinz, president of the American Jewish Congress, took issue today with the spokesman for the State Department in Washington on the matter of discrimination against American citizens who are Jews, and who are blacklisted by an American firm doing business with Saudi Arabia.
Dr. Prinz had sent a letter to Undersecretary of State C. Douglas Dillon, seeking a conference with Secretary of State Christian Herter on the discrimination against American Jews practiced by the Arabian-American Oil Company (Aramco). Yesterday, Lincoln White, spokesman for the State Department, issued a statement replying to Dr. Prinz.
In a counter-response, Dr. Prinz stated today that Mr. White is in error when he characterizes the Arab attack against American Jews as resulting primarily from Israel-Arab tensions. According to Rabbi Prinz, Mr. White had also indicated that the Saudi Arabian blacklist applies only to firms that have branches in Israel or are engaged in commercial dealings with Israel.
“The fact is,” declared Rabbi Prinz, “that American firms, owned or managed by Jews, are subject to an unremitting boycott by Saudi Arabia, whether they maintain branches in Israel or not.” That fact was admitted, said the Jewish Congress leader, by counsel for Aramco who had testified that Saudi Arabia ordered Aramco not to deal with “any company or corporation, no matter where it is located, that is in any way influenced by Jewish management.”
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.
