Pro–Western students at the Hebrew University tangled with Communist students today when Edward M. Kennedy, brother of President Kennedy, arrived at the campus to address the students.
President Kennedy’s youngest brother ended a two-day informal visit to Israel with his appearance at the university. A small Communist group of students greeted him with shouts of “Kennedy, Go Home,” while they waved anti-American placards. Mr. Kennedy gave them a quick glance and went on into the university auditoriums where he was vigorously applauded.
Outside, the pro-Western students scuffled with the Communists, pushing them away, shouting them down and pulling away their placards. The visitor had been booked for a small auditorium but the crowd that wanted to hear him was so large that university officials opened the larger hall which was also inadequate for the overflow crowd.
He hailed Israel’s contribution to the development of African nations, declaring that when he visited Africa, “I saw the tremendous importance of Israel to so many of the new nations.” Just as Israel has inspired the new African countries, he said, its example could be of “tremendous importance” to the resolution of manifold problems in Latin America where the issue was whether the people could preserve the gains of the great democratic revolution they brought about.
He said great admiration and affection for Israel was shared by all Americans, describing it as a friendship “rooted in a common philosophy.” Later he conferred with Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion for 90 minutes.
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.
