A group of visiting Greek Cypriots pleaded with Israelis today to end their tourist boycott of Cyprus because the island’s economy was suffering.
The Cypriots, all farmers who spent several weeks at an Israeli agricultural settlement as guests of the Ministry of Agriculture, acknowledged that the boycott may have been justified by the pro-Arab stand that President Makarios of Cyprus took after the Six-Day War. At the time, he branded Israel an “aggressor” and has never reversed himself.
But, the Cypriot argued, Israelis still take vacations in France, notwithstanding President de Gaulle’s unfriendly policy, “so they don’t have to boycott us because of Makarios.” Cyprus was formerly the favorite resort of middle class Israelis going abroad. The island is only an hour from Israel by air and an overnight cruise by sea.
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.
