Ajcongress Says Syria Sought to Bar U.S. Jews from Participating in a Contract with a New York Compa

The American Jewish Congress has assailed a demand by the Syrian Ministry of Defense that “suspected persons, particularly jews (sic),” be barred from participating in a proposed contract with the Sybron Corporation of Rochester, N.Y.

Citing similar discrimination urged by the Syrian government in proposed contracts with companies in New Jersey and Illinois, Henry Siegman, executive director of the American Jewish Congress, wrote to Syrian Ambassador Rafic Jauejati in Washington:

“The outrageous demand by your Defense Ministry that American companies discriminate against American citizens on the grounds of religion destroys the claim that Arab boycott activities are directed against Israel and Zionists and not against Jews as such. It also destroys the absurd contention that Arabs cannot be anti-Semitic because they are Semitic. And it explains the persecution by your government of the pitiful handful of Syrian Jews still barred from leaving your country.”

CORPORATION REJECTED REQUEST

Siegman said he was “deeply gratified” that the discriminatory request has been “properly rejected” by the Sybron Corporation, a manufacturer of medical supplies and equipment. Similar anti-Jewish discrimination demanded by the Syrian government as a condition of proposed contracts was rejected by the Buck Engineering Co, of Farmingdale, N.J. and the Central Scientific Co. of Chicago.

The demand by the Syrian Ministry of Defense to Sybron, dated March 5, 1981, was discovered by the AJCongress during the course of its program of monitoring reports to the Department of Commerce of boycott-related requests received by American companies. Requests to participate in a boycott must be reported to the Commerce Department under the Export Administration Act. Access to the report is mode possible by the Freedom of Information Act.

The proposed contract received by Sybron includes the following paragraph:

“Contract shall be deemed cancelled, regardless of the state of affairs before the approval of the contractor after advising the contractor of the approval of the contract, if the administration finds out that the contractor, for the execution of his contract, depends materially on suspected persons, particularly jews. He shall be penally prosecuted before the court martial, and legally for all expenses and indemnities (financial penalties) without his having the right to any objection.”