The Jewish organizations which submitted joint proposals on the protection of Jewish rights in former enemy countries to the Peace Conference in Paris will press their demands before the Council of Foreign Ministers which is to meet in New York next month, it was revealed tonight at a dinner arranged by the American Jewish Conference in honor of its representatives who worked in Paris with the delegations from other Jewish organizations.
This was disclosed by Col. Bernard Bernstein, former financial adviser to General Eisenhower, and legal counsel of the American Jewish Conference, who returned from Paris by air yesterday after a three-months stay. Col. Bernstein was the principal speaker at the dinner.
He stated that after the Jewish delegations had presented their joint memorandum to the 21-nation peace conference on the restoration of equality of status to Jews in the ex-enemy countries on Aug. 20, they had requested the privilege of making a formal appearance before the peace conference and its commissions. This request was not granted, and the Jews sought to accomplish the same results by having discussions with leading delegates from individual countries.
The original draft treaties contained only general provisions protecting human rights in the former Nazi satellites, Col. Bernstein said. Amendments aimed at according increased protection in the fields of human rights, restitution of property and trusteeship over heirless property, were adopted by a two-thirds vote in the Rumanian and Hungarian treaties, upon sponsorship of the British and American delegations.
Although the Russians did not vote in favor of these amendments, they did, in discussions with the Jewish representatives, state that their official policy was against discriminatory treatment, he said. The Soviet delegates also declared their recognition that it would be a matter of “international concern” if any of the former enemy countries indulged in discriminatory treatment of any segment of their populations, Col. Bernstein asserted. This, he felt, night provide an avenue for UN review in cases of racist or political discrimination.
Other speakers at the dinner included Louis Lipsky, Rabbi Maurice N. Eisendrath, Rabbi Israel Goldstein, Rabbi Irving Miller, Leon Gellman and Mrs. Moses P. Epstein, who, with Col. Bernstein, comprised the guests of honor.
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