Ajcongress Accuses UN of Indifference to Plight of Jews Living in Arab Lands

The American Jewish Congress Governing Council condemned United Nations’ “indifference,” domestic “repression,” Soviet anti-Semitism, church-state links in a series of resolutions adopted at the Congress’ biennial convention this weekend. The resolutions called for “massive” educational aid, Senate ratification of the Genocide Convention, and equal domestic rights. The Council accused the UN of “callous indifference to the plight of Jews living in Arab lands,” and charged it has “failed to initiate an investigation into their perilous condition.” The Council warned against entrusting the problems of crime, law enforcement and criminal justice to “the easy answers of repression.” It expressed “fears for the survival of Soviet Jewry” and called the USSR “the principal source of worldwide anti-Semitic propaganda.” The Council declared that “the increasing success of the well-financed drive to divert public funds to support religious-affiliated schools” was “a powerful threat to the principle of church-state separation.” Another resolution urged “massive educational expenditures” to bolster quality integrated education despite some parents’ “intransigence.” The Council called for the “full use of the powers of government” to ensure “full equality” in employment, housing, education and other areas.