Shouts of “Death to Zionists” and “there will be no peace until we are free of Jews” filled the air of this city yesterday as Arab women, blaming Zionists for all of the world’s problems, disrupted discussions at the United Nations Conference on the End of the Women’s Decade.
“Regardless of the scheduled subject of any meeting — and I have witnessed it at meetings on infant and child care, battered women, and water-purification — anti-Zionist accustations, slogans and speeches took over the discussion,” declared Phyllis Heideman of Louisville, Ky., a delegate of B’nai B’rith International.
Heideman added that whenever anyone attempted to refute the Arabs or defend Israel and the Jews, she was shouted down or the microphone was cut off.
“It is obvious that those people who are injecting poison into the minds of listeners are well-prepared and well-rehearsed,” Heideman said. “Not only did they make their points orally, but they came with hundreds of photos, exhibits and mountains of false statistics to help them ‘prove’ their points.”
On the other hand, she stated, most of the delegates from Western nations arrived “poorly briefed and totally unprepared” to counter the Arabs and their allies. “It is clear that these propagandists have made international conferences major forums for their hatred,” the B’nai B’rith delegate said.
“Americans and other Westerners must do their homework and be prepared to face this kind of attack at all multinational meetings,” she added.
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.
