Drinan Advocates Actions to Oppose Boycotts by Arabs

Rep. Robert F. Drinan (D-Mass.) called on law students last night to solve the "basic law and morality" problem of Arab black-listing of American firms.

Speaking to a group of 75, Drinan said the Arabs' boycott of U.S. firms selling to Israel "erodes" U.S. support for Israel.

Drinan told the audience at the Law School that he has already proposed a bill to impose restrictions on firms submitting to the boycott. Drinan's bill would also protect employees against discrimination arising from the boycott.

Drinan criticized Commerce Secretary Rogers Morton and President Ford for their failure to take action against corporations that submit to the boycott.

Corporations that submitted to the boycott earned $203 million worth of products in the first six months of 1975, an "enormous" increase since last year, Drinan said.

Multinationals' Role

Multinational corporations play a "very great" role in the economic development of Third World countries, Drinan said. Drinan urged all law students to study multinationals in order to assist Congress in regulating corporate activities.

In a discussion of domestic issues, Drinan urged the public to express its disgust to Congress about current intelligence activities. He said the FBI has exceeded its power in opening 800,000 new investigatory files of which 20 per cent deal with "subversives or extremists."

Since his election to the 92nd Congress, Drinan has served on the House Judiciary Committee, and the House Government Operation Committee.