Israel President Zalman Shazar left here this afternoon for New York after an event-crammed two-day visit to the nation’s capital which included a state dinner by President and Mrs. Johnson at the White House last night, an earlier White House meeting with President Johnson, a luncheon yesterday by the Organization of American States, a luncheon today by Ambassador Harman and a visit to Arlington National Cemetery where the Israeli President placed a wreath at the tomb of the late President Kennedy. Secretary of State Dean Rusk was at the airport to bid Mr. Shazar farewell before the Israeli President boarded the official plane for New York. Other high government officials, as well as diplomatic representatives from a number of countries, came to the airport to bid good-bye to President Shazar.
(Upon his return to New York, the Israel President was visited at his hotel by Francis Cardinal Spellman, Archbishop of New York. President Shazar and his party will leave tonight on an El Al plane for Israel. Prior to his departure, he will receive leaders of the American Jewish Committee and other Jewish organizations at his residence in the Plaza Hotel.)
At the White House state dinner last night, President Johnson welcomed Mr. Shazar with the traditional Hebrew greeting “Baruch Haba. He described Mr. Shazar as “the leader of a people for whom we hold the greatest admiration.” Lauding the Israeli President as “a renowned scholar and educator and as a pioneer in the New Israel,” Mr. Johnson declared;
“Israel today carries forward its pursuit of spiritual values and is sharing its own experience with other countries. We in America are keenly aware that God showered our land with abundance. The sharing of our blessings with others is a value we hold in common with Israel. Above all, Mr. President, we share in common the vision of peace you call ‘shalom.'” President Johnson reiterated pledges voiced on May 8, 1963 by President Kennedy related to Israel security.
PRESIDENT JOHNSON AND PRESIDENT SHAZAR EXCHANGE GIFTS
President Shazar, responding to Mr. Johnson’s toast, expressed “deep appreciation” for the latter’s leadership in his efforts “to achieve a world in which every nation would be left alone to lead its life in accordance with its own free choice, with its independence and integrity respected.”
“On behalf of the Government and people of my country,” Mr. Shazar declared, “I wish to record our appreciation of the understanding which has marked your approach to our problems and my satisfaction at the continuous growth of the friendship between our two countries.”
President Johnson gave President Shazar a 17-volume set of the papers of Thomas Jefferson in a custom-made bookcase with a gold presentation plaque and an autographed photograph in a sterling silver frame with the Presidential seal. Mr. Shazar presented President Johnson with a special edition of the Jerusalem Bible in Hebrew bound in black leather and inscribed in silver. He also gave Mr. Johnson a special golden medallion memorializing the rebirth of Israel and a photograph of himself.
Guests at the dinner included Vice-President Hubert H. Humphrey, Mr. Rusk and other members of the Cabinet, senators, congressmen, government officials and Jewish leaders and other personages from all parts of the country. It was also the first formal state dinner that was attended by President Johnson’s daughter Luci and her fiance, Patrick J. Nugent. In his remarks at the dinner, President Shazar extended a greeting of “mazal tov” to the Johnson family on the occasion of the marriage on Saturday of the young couple.
At the farewell luncheon today tendered by Ambassador Harman, and attended by Vice-President Humphrey and Mr. Rusk, President Shazar expressed renewed conviction of the depth of the friendship linking the United States and Israel. Recalling that Mr. Humphrey visited Israel in 1958 and 1961, Mr. Shazar said that “We look forward to seeing you once again in our midst.” Mrs. Humphrey, wife of the Vice-President, tendered a luncheon in honor of Mrs. Shazar at Washington’s Sulgrave Club.
Mr. Shazar sent a telegram to former President Harry S. Truman in Independence, Mo., in which he expressed regret at not being able to call on him and expressed his wishes for Mr. Truman’s health. Earlier in the day, the Israeli President was taken to Arlington National Cemetery where he placed a wreath at the tomb of the late President Kennedy and recited a brief memorial prayer in Hebrew.
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.
