U.S. State Department Insists No Policy Exists
for Excluding Jews From Posts in Arab Lands
WASHINGTON (JTA) — A re-
port that the American Jewish
Congress protested to Secretary
of State Dean Rusk against the
practice of excluding Jews from
diplomatic posts in Arab countries,
Monday elicited a reply by Robert
McCloskey, State Department
spokesman, that the department
has no such policy.
The American Jewish Congress
Sunday called on Rusk to repudiate
the "ugly practice" of excluding
Jews from diplomatic posts in Arab
countries.
Dr. Joachim Prinz, president of
the Congress, voiced "dismay and
disbelief" at a written explanation
of State Department policy on over-
seas assignments by Assistant Sec-
retary of State Douglas MacArthur
II.
McCloskey told a press confer-
. ence that although some foreign
nations might not accept Ameri-
can Jews, there was "no dis-
crimination per se" practiced
by the State Department. He
said that the department could
not explain — in view of federal
executive orders against listing
of religious background' of U.S.
employes — how the secretary
of state determined the identity
of Jews in making assignments
to Arab states.
He was asked about a case last
year in which Secretary of State
Dean Rusk ordered subordinates
to determine whether Malta would
object to a U. S. ambassador of
Jewish faith. Malta did not object.
Ambassador George J. Feldman
was assigned to that post.
McCloskey indicated he had no
knowledge of that specific episode
but that this government felt it
necessary to obtain prior agree-
ment on persons considered for
assignment.
He denied reports that the State
Department has in the past not
assigned U.S. foreign service of-
ficers of Jewish faith to Israel.
He stressed that the U.S. govern-
mtnt did not believe that acceding
to wishes of other nations on U.S.
personnel — in terms of the Amer-
ican's personal background — was
tantamount to a policy of dis-
crimination by the United States.
At the conference, the quotation
by MacArthur was cited. Mac-
Arthur had written Rep. Richard
S. Schweiker, Pennsylvania Repub-
lican, that "while the United States
does not normally take into ac-
count the religion of its employes
in assigning them for duty abroad,
this is regrettably a factor which
cannot be ignored in the case of
certain countries whose policies in
this respect we cannot control,
however much we disagree with
them."
McCloskey said he would have
Bnai Brith Parley on Adult Education
Pays Tribute to Founder, Dr. Adler
(Direct JTA Teletype Wire
to The Jewish News)
NEW YORK—The present gen-
eration of Jewish adults in this
country, native and college-educat-
ed, is "increasingly reachable" for
involvement in study programs of
Judaism and Jewish life, it was
established at the two-day Nation-
al Bnai Brith Conference on Adult
Jewish Education, which conclud-
ed its sessions here Monday.
More than 200 participants, in-
cluding representatives of Jewish
religious and secular groups, at-
tended the parley.
However, it was also emphasized
at the conference that "the lack
of cohesion" in Jewish educational
activity is limiting the opportuni-
ties for "mature learning on a
communitywide level." Speakers
pointed out that Jewish
J
community
life is "overinstitutionalized" and
weakened by competitive organiza-
tional loyalties and that it fails to
pool and focus its educational re-
sources on developing a more crea-
tive contemporary Jewish culture.
The conference, planned sever-
al months ago, became a mem-
orial tribute to its originator—
the late Rabbi Morris Adler of
Detroit—who was to have been
a major speaker at the confer-
ence.
The commission curtailed its
business sessions except to act un-
animously on a recommendation
that had been presented by Rabbi
Adler for the election of Dr. Harold
Weisberg, dean of the graduate
school of arts and sciences at Bran-
deis University, as commission
chairman.
Dr. Weisberg, a conference
speaker, deplored the tendency of
American Jewry to express its
Jewishness through an "organiza-
tional culture," in which a domi-
nant loyalty to the institution sub-
stitutes for a culture that requires
"no underpinning of ideology, no
conscious campaigns for continu-
ity, no organized program for sur-
vival."
The role of the American Jewish
community, he said, should be
that of "a creative minority in a
pluralistic America, rather than a
minority conforming culturally to
the democratic majority."
Elie Wiesel, prominent Jewish
author who survived the horrors
of Auschwitz to write of the Nazi
holocaust and its effect on his
people, was presented the Bnai
Brith Jewish Heritage Award
here Monday.
Wiesel is the first recipient of
the award, a $1,000 literary prike
given annually to the writer who
"makes a positive contribution to
contemporary literature by his au-
thentic interpretation of Jewish life
and values."
The presentation was . made by
Dr. Louis Kaplan, president of Bal-
timore Hebrew College. In accept-
ing the award, Wiesel said that
Jewish literature today cannot be
written unless justified against two
criteria — the holocaust and the
creation of Israel.
"What is lacking in modern Jew-
ish literature or literature by or
about Jews is any intensity or even
awareness of these criteria," Wie-
sel said. "Today's self-hating Jew-
ish writers are alienated from
Judaism because of their lack of
understanding of either in their
existence as Jews," he said, and
as a result "their books are not
Jewish."
Wiesel is the author of "Night,"
"Dawn," "The Accident," and
"The Town Beyond the Wall." His
fifth novel, "Gates of the Forest,"
will be published by Holt, Rinehart
and Winston in May.
`Drop Over to Jordan
and Get a Cup of Sugar'
TEL AVIV (ZINS)—The extent to
which certain individual American
Jews are unaware of Israel's rela-
tionships with the Arab countries
is described in a number of inci-
dents reported in the Israeli press.
The afternoon paper "Maariv"
relates the story of a New York
tourist who recently arrived in Is-
rael wearing heavy ski shoes and
outfitted with a wide variety of ski
equipment.
When he was informed of Israel's
subtropical climate he replied that
in that case he will ski on the snows
of Mt. Harmon. When he was ad-
vised that the Harmon mountain is
located in a neighboring Arab coun-
try, he replied that he plans to
cross the border daily for this pur-
pose.
The Israeli press cites another
case involving a woman from
Brooklyn. Since her daughter is be-
ing courted by a young Arab from
Jordan she asked a relative in Is-
rael to cross over into Jordan to
ascertain the lineage of the young
man.
THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS
Friday, March 18, 1966-5
to confirm the authenticity of the
quotation. Rep. Schweiker later
displayed the signed letter by Mac-
Arthur containing the quotation
cited.
State Department sources mean-
while revealed that Rusk makes
"informal inquiries" either directly
to prospective appointees or to
their colleagues when considering
assignments to diplomatic posts
where Jews might be unwelcome.
In New York, The American
Jewish Committee asked Rusk
to make "vigorous representa-
tions" to the government of Le-
banon against its continuing dis-
criminatory policy which Sunday
resulted in the barring of
Andrew Go o dma n, AJC vice
president, and his wife, from
entry into Lebanon despite their
possession of an American pass-
port and a valid Lebanese visa.
Goodman, president of Bergdorf
Goodman department store in New
York, was barred along with Mrs.
Goodman from entering Lebanon
because he is on an Arab black-
list of persons active in support
of fund-raising for Israel. The two
were held at the Beirut airport
for more than five hours. Good-
man is active on behalf of the
United Jewish Appeal and the Fed-
eration of Jewish Philanthropies
of Greater New York.
Dr. John Slawson, executive
vice president of the American
Jewish Committee, in his appeal
to Secretary Rusk, said:
"Mr. Goodman is a vice president
of the American Jewish Committee
and he and his wife are active in
many civic and philanthropic
causes. The arbitary revocation by
the Lebanese government of their
permission to enter that country
as tourists, is more than a curtail-
ment of American citizens' right of
travel for irrelevant and unaccept-
able reason. By reaffirming a
policy that undermines the in-
tegrity and the equality of United
States citizenship, the Lebanese
action is an affront to the dignity
of the United States and contrary
to our fundamental democratic
principles.
"This latest incident reinforces
our deep belief — as most recently
expressed in our communication of
last January — 'that the time has
come for the United States gov-
ernment to take effective action to
insist upon the final obliteration
of these remaining intolerable
distinctions made among our citi-
zens' by certain Arab states.' "
Danish Jews Give Torahs to Israel
(Direct JTA Teletype Wire
to The Jewish News)
COPENHAGEN — Ten Torah
scrolls were handed over at Copen-
hagen's main synagogue Wednes-
day to Yaacov Hess, charge d'af-
fairs of the Israel embassy here,
as a gift to the Israeli army from
the Jewish community of Den-
mark.
The synagogue's associate rabbi,
Rabbi Ben Melchior, presided over
the ceremony. The gift to the
Israeli army resulted from an ap-
peal made here a month ago by
Israel's deputy chief chaplain,
Rabbi Peron who said that the
Israeli army suffers from a short-
age of Torah scrolls.
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