Thursday. July 12, 1979— THE BULLETIN — 3
PEOPLE'
(Cottdnued from page 2)
passengers could clearly see the lights of the city in the "land of freedom.'*'
THE DESPERATE PLIGHT of the refugees prompted Bishop James Cannon, Jr., of Richmond, Virginia to send a letter to the Richmond Times-Dispatch: *\ .. the press also reported that the U.S. Coast Guard, under instructions from Washington, followed the ship... to prevent any people landing on our shores. And during the days when this horrible tragedy was being enacted right at our doors, our government in Washington made no effort to relieve the desperate situation of these people, but on the contrary gave orders that they be kept out of the country. Why did not the President, Secretary of State, Secretsiry of the Treasury, Secretary of Labor and other officials confer together and a^ngje for the landing of these, refugees who had be^ In the mael-
strom of distress and agony through no faiilt of their own? . . . The failure to take any steps whatever to assist these distressed, persecuted ' Jews in their hour of extremity was one of the most disgriaceful things which has happened in American history and leaves a stain and brand of shame upon the record of our nation.**
But just as the U.S. State Department was refusing to grant visas, so, too, did the British prevent other Jewish refugees from reaching Palestine. Arthur D. Morse (While Six Million Died) describes the misfortune of the passengers on -board the Struma, the 180-ton Rumanian vessel which usually carried about 100 passengers on coastal runs:
**On Dec. 16, 1941, the Struma picked up 769 refugees from the Rumanian port of Constanza, and though none of its passengers possessed British permits, began the slow voyage to Haifa, Palestine. Critically overloaded and endangered by a leaking hull and defective engines, it broke down off IstanbuL Turkish authorities would not permit the passengers to land unless they obtained British,, certificates^., for Palestine. The British refused.
The 5*11117130 remained at anchor for ten weeks. Finally, on February 24, in spite of protests.by the captain that his ship was not seaworthy, the Turks towed the Struma to sea. Before the vessel faded from view the people ashore read the large banner made by the passengers. It said: "SAVE US!**
"iSix miles from shore the Struma sank. It is still not known whether it capsized, struck a mine or was hit by a torpedo. Seventy children, 269 women and 428 men drowned. Two passengers swam to safety. Immediately after the iS/rt/mn'^ departure, local British officials received authorization from their superiors to issue Palestine certificates to the 70 children.**
So now, with the awful agony of the "Boat People** of Vietnam, George Santayana*s prophecy made in 1905 is in the process of being fulfilled yet another time in this century:
"those who casinot remismber the past are condemned to repeat it**
BRAZIL-PLO TIES CONDEMNED
RIO DE JANEIRO — Dr. Benno Milnitzky, president of BraziFs Jewish confederation, has protested against Brazirs recognition of the Palestine Liberation Organization.
This was contained in a joint statement issued at the end of a five-day official visit to the country by Vice-President Taha Maarouf of Iraq.
Brazil was opening **a haven for terror** and the establishment of a PLb office in Brazil would cause the Jewish community "anger and
anxiety,** Dr. Milnitzky said.
He also expressed the communi-ty*s fears that "the infiltration of anti-Semitic material into Brazil is almost certain** from such a development. **Some embassies are already distributing anti-Semitic propaganda,** he added.
The Brazilian press continues to criticize the recognition of the PLO. The wSYvLGnivaX Jornal do Brasil appealed to President Joao Baptista de Figueirodo to "'resist all pressures.** JCNS.
TEL AVIV — Tahai, IsraeFs water resources planning company, announced that it has pulled all of its personnel and their families out of Managua, the capital of Nicaragua which is now a battlefield between the Sandinista rebels and the Somoza government. The move means abandonment of an eight-year irrigation and water systems contract granted the Israeli firm by the Somoza regime three years ago. The contract brought Tahal revenue of more than $1.5 million a year and still had five years to go. The company has also abandoned its heavy machinery and other equipment in Nicaragua but that'loss is insured.
• « * * V «
OTTAWA^ The reprcscjitative of the Arab League in Canada, Abdullah Abdullah^ denied categorically any intention by the Arab countries to grant special diplomatic status to the Province of Quebec as some sort of retaliation against the intention of the Canadian government to move its Embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.
**Quebec is still part of Canada and this is the way which Arabs are seeing the situation,** Abdullah said. He said that "After we have vigorously, protested any interference with our internal affairs how could we commit the same error?**^
The possibility that the Arab countries might grant special diplomatic status to Quebec was raised in an. article by the Washington correspondent of La Presscy the Montreal French-language daily. The correspondent,
W. GERMAN HEAD WAS FORMEr NAZI
BONN — Professor Karl Car-stens, the 64-year-old Speaker of the West German Federal Parliament since 1976, has been elected the new President of West Germany, succeeding Walter Scheel.
Dr. Carstens, a Christian Democrat, had a majority of 528 votes.
Since it was announced that Dr. Carstens was to run for the highest office in the State, he had been strongly criticized by Left-wing political circles because h&4iad been a member of the Nazi Party and the Nazi Stormtrobpere (SA). But his opponents, the Social • Democrats -and the FreeDemocrats, declared at the^time of his^ nominffl^on^iat the; -poMticaJ'past-sf-^eCpU represent: tative should no longer be made a . subject of political criticizm and that the witch-hunting should cease.
JCNS.
'T
MOVE mm
MONTREAL - New Democratic Party leader Ed Broadbent ' called on Prime Minister Joe Clark to immediately announce that Canada will not move its Embassy from Tei Aviv to Jerusalem. "This Would restore our traditional position of neutrality on Jerusalem,** Broadbent said after a meeting with representatives of the nine Arab League states here. In an interview published in the Montreal Star, Egyptian President Anwar Sadat accused Clark of undermining peace efforts in the Middle East by the proposed move and warned that Arab threats against Canada should be taken seriously.
quoting Washingfoii-based Arab sources, wrote that the ambassadors of Arab and Islamic countries have decided to establish diplomatic relations with Quebec.
Claude Morin; vice-premier of Quebec, said in Quebec City that "Quebec has major interests in the Middle East and their interests were badly served by the Clark decision.**
He revealed that he met with three Arab ambassadors and will meet with others shortly to see in what circumstances a Quebec "delega-
tion** or a Quebec "niission** can be set up in one or more countries of the Middle East.
He noted that the federal government in Ottawa has blocked, in the past, attempts to establish such-missions abroad.
But, he said, since Quebec*s trade with the Arab countries would amount to $7 billion, the decision to establish direct contact between the French-speaking province and Arab countries would have better chances than before. -
CARTER URGED TO APPEAL FOR SHARANSKY
LONDON — President Carter has been asked by 57 leading Israeli public figures to appeal to President Leonid Brezhnev of the Soviet Union on behalf of imprisoned dissident Anatoly Sharansky. They expressed concern that he may not survive conditions at Chistopol prison camp, where he is being held, and that his health has seriously deteriorated.
The letter froni the Israelis said that Sharansky is suffering from constant severe headaches, is rapidly losing weight and shows signs of "internal cerebral inflammation.** It asked thePresident to speed up attempts to obtain Sharansky*s release, "otherwise we fear it may ahefidy be too late.** Signatories, many of them former Soviet refuseniks, include Sylva Zalniaiison, Leonid Slepak and 16 academicians. -The text was released here by the Women*s Campaign for Soviet Jewry. .
REPORT SECdND JEW
MONTREAL — Canadian Jewish Congress has asked the Canadian ^ Gxyvempi^ take^isteps "tci im-^ 'prove the situation of ^ Iranian Jewish community, in light of the news of the murder of a second Jew in Iran recently.
In a letter to External Affairs Minister Flora Macdonald over the signature of CJC president Rabbi Gunther Plant, reference is made to a report in London*s Sunday-Mirror of June 3 of the torture and beheading of Muchtram Kohanim, a Jewish housewife in Shiraz, by a gang of young men who broke into' her home.
The first Jew to be murdered in Iran, prominent community leader Habib Elghanian, was executed by a revolutionary tribunal in early May.
"We expressed then our great worry that this might be but the beginning of a concerted campaign against the Jews of Iran. Unfor--tunately our concern seems to be bom out' by new developments,**
wrote - Plant. "We are more than worried.** , ^■j
He; ask^ that the Canadian Embassy in Teheran obtain the full facts on the situation and monitor this "potentially genocidal trend.**
A similar letter was sent to the Iranian ambassador to Canada, Faz-lollah Reza, calling upon him to initiate an immediate investigation into the case of Mrs. Kohanim.
JERUSALEM ~ Sources close to Premier Menachem Begin flatly rejected an assertion by Labor party chairman Shimon Peres that Begin may be planning to call a general election before his government's term of office expires in 1981.
SADAT OFFERS SHAH ASYLUM
JERUSALEM — President Sadat offered in the Egyptian Parlianient to give the Shah of Iran and his family refuge in Egypt.
Sadat said: "We in Egypt are pained because many countries of the world are turning their backs on the Shah after having once sought his friendship. Sadat made clear that Egypt's offer also expressed the nation*s gratitude for Iran's material and political support. Arab countries like Saudi Arabia and Kuwait, whose views President Sadat still values, are likely to regard his move in a good light.
JCNS.
THREE JEWS — all Conservatives and all contesting English constituences — were returned in the first direct elections to the European Assembly. Pictured left to right are Madron Seligman, Fred Tuckman and Derek Prag. Seligman registered the largest vote of any-candidate in Britain and achieved the biggest majority. Subsequently, Simone Veil and four other Jews were elected to the European ParJiaiiiehV in France.JCNS.