There are no signs yet pointing to any forthcoming establishment of diplomatic relations between Israel and West Germany, in the wake of Chancellor Konrad’s sweeping election victory this Sunday, Foreign Ministry sources indicated today.
Earlier, it was felt that Bonn had postponed an exchange of diplomatic representatives until after the elections to prevent any political repercussions if the Arabs retaliated by recognizing East Germany. Informed sources have indicated there might be a change of plans in connection with Israel-German diplomatic relations; instead of an immediate exchange on the diplomatic level the two states may first exchange representatives on the consular level and only later diplomats.
This delay was not seen here as indicating any worsening of relations, on the contrary, it has been established that payment of individual compensation and restitution to Israeli citizens will maintain a financial basis for a considerable volume of Israel-German trade for years, even after all reparations to the State of Israel have been paid.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
