THE , 1)ETRO T Timerman Made Public Issue of Human Rights in Argentina By RABBI MORTON ROSENTHAL Latin American Affairs Department of the Anti-Defamation League of Bnia Brith • NEW YORK (JTA) — Jacobo Timerman has ren- D dared a great service to all concerned with the protec- tion of human rights in Argentina and around the • world. Robert Cox, former editor of the Buenos Aires Herald, claims that Timerman did •what many had thought impossible, "he made the per of the United States Argentina." By BTV_ stimulating wide- • spread interest in human rights and making- it an ; =;-7 issue for political debate, Timerman has earned both lavish praise and scathing personal criticism. One prominent conservative lir questioned his stability and j-udgment and another chal- lenged his honesty. Criticism of Timerman • has resonated within the Jewish communities of the United States and I Argentina, where it was suggested that Timerman was endangering the • Jews of Argentina by ' exaggerating the gravity of the problem. Subtly, the criticism fo- cused public attention on the person of TimerMan and diverted it from the real is- , sues. Timerman is not the issue; he is a messenger who t has dramatically brought to ' the attention of the world ) problems that should con- cern us all. Primary among • them are the massive and consistent violations of. human rights in Argentina and anti-Semitism, espe- cially the special treatment _ meted out to Jews while ) under detention in Argen- tina. ? I I There is little room for debate on these issues and no reason to doubt Timer- man's first-hand report. Gross and persistent viola- tions of human rights in Argentina during the past five years have been re- ported by our State De- partment and many re- spected international and national organizations. The most thorough docu- ment, a 266-page "Report on the Situation of Human Rights in Argentina," was published last year by the Inter-American Commis- sion on Human Rights (IACHR), an agency of the Organization of American States. After exhaustive investi- gations, which included a two-week on-site visit to Argentina, the commission concluded that "numerous serious violations of human rights . . . were committed in the Republic of Argen- tina" from 1975 to 1979. Its investigation of the disappearance of thousands of Argentines led to the finding that many men and women were killed after they were detained by "per- sons belonging to or con- nected with government security agencies" and that the "systematic use of torture and other cruel, inhuman and de- grading treatment . . . has taken on alarming char- acteristics." The report also cited limitations on personal freedom and the right to a fair trial and due process. The Reagan Administra- tion has publicly committed itself to a strong human rights policy. The recent testimony on human rights policy by a key State De- partment official could have To 50 %Off All Name Brand Verticals r No measurement charge. No Freight charge in most cases. Installation available. • • • • • • and Horizontals LEVOLOR BALI DEL-MAR FLEXALUM GRABER LOUVER DRAPE Make the most of your windows with our rea- sonably priced vertical blinds . . . horizontals . . . window shades . . . woven woods . . shut- ws for your windows. "Work with a professional" The Great Cover -Up 838-2345 Operators on call 7 days been written by a represen- tative of the Carter Ad- ministration. Walter Stoes- sel Jr., Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs, told the House Subcommit- tee on Human Rights and International Organiza- tions that the Administra- tion's commitment to human rights is an integral element of foreign policy. "Under this Administra- tion, the protection and enhancement of human rights . . . shapes the fun- damental purposes and helps define the context of our international relation- ships. This commitment to human rights, like our entire foreign policy, is an expression of values deeply held by the American people themselves." The ill-fated nomination of Dr. Ernest Lefever sparked controversy over the nature and extent of America's commitment to human rights. The Ad- ministration could quell this controversy by promptly filling the long vacant post of Assistant Secretary of State for Human Rights and Humanitarian Affairs with an individual who, with strong White House sup- port, can persuade the citi- zens of the United States as well as the rulers of both "authoritarian" and "to- talitarian" regimes that our foreign policy is and will be true to those values so de- eply held by the American people. American Doctor Seeks Witnesses to War Crimes JERUSALEM (JNI) — An 84-year-old American is in Israel seeking witnesses against two alleged Nazis living in the U.S. Although closed for lack of evidence, the U.S. courts are willing to resume de- naturalization and deporta- tion proceedings if adequate testimony is provided. The American Jewish Congress will coordinate Dr. Charles Kremer's search as director of the Committee to Bring Nazi War Criminals to Justice, gather . written evidence and, if necessary, transport witnesses to the U.S. to tes- tify. Dr. Kremer was the cata- lyst for the start of U.S. de- naturalization proceedings against Romanian Arch- bishop Valerian Trifa of Grass Lake, Mich. His case is pending before the U.S. Court of Appeals in Cincin- nati. Honorary Citizen TEL AVIV — Dr. George S. Wise, chancellor of Tel Aviv University, has been awarded honorary citizen- ship of Tel Aviv-Jaffa by Shlomo Lahat, mayor of Tel Aviv-Jaffa. Dr. Wise was the first president of the university and a driving force in its rapid develop- ment. NEWS IN 14 198 Legal Problems- of Jewish Deaf Topic of Seminar JERUSALEM (JNI) — Whether Jewish law per- mits the use of a hearing aid on the Sabbath and the validity of negotiation, marriage or divorce by a deaf person were among the topics discussed at the sec- ond international conven- tion of deaf Jews in Jerusalem last week. De- signed to bring deaf Jews in the Diaspora closer to Is- rael, conference sessions were conducted in various spoken and sign langauges. The deaf, considered le- gally incompetent by Jewish tradition, "tend to assimilate even more rapidly than other Jews," explained Isahar Goldrath, director of the Israel Asso- ciation for the Deaf. "In many countries, services for the deaf are provided by churches with missionary motives." Religious educa- tion is not provided to deaf Jewish children, according to Goldrath. 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