Major Jewish Groups Deplore U.S. Decision Not to Admit Egyptian Refugees

National Jewish organizations affiliated with the National Community Relations Advisory Council today expressed “dismay and disappointment” over the Administration’s decision not to admit Egyptian Jewish refugees to the United States under the McCarran-Walter Act. The so-called parole provisions of that Act were invoked by the Administration to admit Hungarian refugees, and some are still being admitted under those provisions.

The organizations issued a joint statement denouncing the Administration’s explanation last week of its reasons for not extending the parole provisions to Egyptian refugees. The statement was issued under the signatures of the American Jewish Congress, Jewish Labor Committee, Jewish War Veterans, Union of American Hebrew Congregations of America, United Synagogue of America and the Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations of America. The National Council of Jewish Women, which is not affiliated with the NCRAC, similarly signed the joint statement.

At the same time, Irving M, Engel, president of the American Jewish Committee, today published a letter in the New York Times, expressing the “disappointment” of his organization at the Administration’s decision to refuse admission to the United States of refugee victims of Egyptian persecution. “The explanation as to why this Government is prepared to admit refugees from Hungary but not from Egypt is confusing, ” Mr. Engel stated. “It suggests that a double standard is involved in our humanitarian acts.”

The Administration’s explanation was contained in a letter written to Senator Jacob K. Javits and Congressman Emanuel Celler, both of New York, by Deputy Attorney General William P. Rogers. Mr. Rogers wrote that the Justice Department takes the position that the exercise of the parole authority in behalf of the Hungarian refugees was in response to “a sudden unexpected emergency which arose while there was no Congress in session”; and that, since Congress has thus far not acted on the President’s recommendations for revision of the law regarding asylum to persons fleeing from oppression, the Department should not extend the parole provisions to other groups until Congress takes action.

In their statement, the Jewish organizations called this explanation “specious”; pointing out that “the law itself makes no such distinction.” The law, they declared, “is the same when Congress is in session and when Congress is not in session. The Administration resorts to pretext when it explains on this basis its choice of exercising or not exercising the discretion that is clearly vested in it by the law.”

As to the failure of Congress to act on the President’s recommendations, the Jewish organizations pointed out that they had consistently urged such action. They expressed “regret that the Administration has not provided the firm leadership that might have brought it about.”