The Phoenix Jewish news., 1960-07-29

raePs United Nations representa-
tive, Michael Comay, and the west
coast consul general from Israel,
Yaakov Avnon.
A LETTER TO the Commission
on International Affairs of the
American Jewish Congress-15 E.
s4th ST.. Y.C.-should bring you
a COPY of the commissions fact
sheet on the Eichmann Contro-
versy. This document answers
many of the questions which have
been asked about the case. For
example:
Adolph Eichmann was born in
Solingen, Germany-not in Pales-
tine. He was raised in Austria,
Joined the Nazi party in 1882, and
emigrated to Germany in July,
1898.
His main role in the NaZi reign
of terror was that of architect of
the "Final Solution" of the Jewish
problem. He was very Jealous in
his work. Rudolf HoesS, former
COI11II1dIlu0I VI lllC AOSSbWlbA OCotAi
camp. said in his memoirs:
"Eichmann was obSessed with
the Jewish question and its Final
Solution He was agile, active
and full of energy, always schem-
ing and on the lookout for innova-
tions and Improvements
"de was worried because all ex-
termination devices used previous
ly-among them, mass shooting,
gas vans, carbon monoxide as
phyxiation-were obviously made
quate for the physical destruction
of millions of Jews Very soon,
Auschwitz was equipped with five
crematoria capable of reducing to
ashes ten thousand human bodies
per day"
Dieter Wisliceny who was exc
cuted in 1947 for his own war
crimes, testified at Nuremberg that
Eichmann had boasted that "he
would leap into his grave laughing
cause the knowledge that he
had six million Jews 'on his con-
science would be for him a source
of extraordinary satisfaction. F"
Now it Is this gentleman who
was abducted from Argentina
(space Is inadequate here to docu-
ment the impossibility of forcing
Argentina to extradite Eichmann
legally, but take my word for 1T
it couldn't be done) and brought to
Israel for trial.
(Here. an aside from the we'll
known Argentine publicist, Ernesto
Sabate, who wrote in eel Mundo"
last month under the title "Sov-
ereignty for Butchers: "How can
we not admire a group of brave
men who have during the years
endangered their lives in searching
throughout the world for these
criminals, and yet had the honesty
to deliver him up for trial by ju-
dicial tribunals instead of being
impelled by an impulse of revenge
to finish him off on the spot . -
Does Israel have jurisdiction in
this case?
A perpetrator of crimes against
humanity can, by international law,
be tried by any state which ac-
quires physical custody of the ac-
cuSed.
Furthermore, there are more wit
nesses in Israel to testify to Eich-
mann's crimes than there are any
where in the world. And Israel is
recognized by the Luxembourg
agreement (between West Ger
many and Israeli as the legitimate
successor in interest to the de-
stroyed European Jewish commun-
ity.
Will Eichmann have difficulty in
getting defense counsel and wit
nesses in Israel? 1t is true that no
Israeli attorney will agree to de-
fend him, but he will have skilled
and expert counsel from abroad,
and the security and safety of de-
fense counsel and witnesses have
been guaranteed.
Israel's concepts of due process
and fair trial are conceded by
even the severest critics to be of
the highest standards. The trial
will be impeccably and scrupulous-
ly fair.
1t has been suggested that it
would be better to try Eichmam
before an international tribunal
than before an Israeli court.
There is, of course, no such tri-
bunal at this time, though Israel
has been one of the states which
has worked hardest to bring about
the setting up of an International
court.
1t would be very difficult to set
up even a temporary tribunal of
this sort because the principal ma
tions which would make it up have
shown no willingness to partici-
pate. Nor has West Germany it.
A