National Religious Party Convention Surprised by Visit from Rumanian Chief Rabbi

The National Religious Party opened its convention here yesterday, and the highlight of the occasion was a surprise appearance by Chief Rabbi Moses Rosen of Rumania. He had arrived to supervise the distribution of Torah scrolls which Rumanian-Jewish communities donated to synagogues in Israel.

Interior Minister Moshe Shapiro declared in a keynote address that preservation of the national unity coalition Government was vital. He said, however, that statements on the future of the occupied territories were not binding, even if made by the highest office-holders, unless they had been previously approved by the Cabinet. He was referring to Prime Minister Levi Eshkol’s statement in a recent Newsweek magazine interview that Israel was prepared to give up certain areas of the West Bank. The remark almost resulted in a walk-out by Gahal (Herut-Liberal alignment), the second largest party in the Government.