High Ranking French Political Figure Going to Israel; a First Since 1967

A central figure of the French government’s majority bloc, the Secretary General of the Independent Republican Party, Michel Poniatovsky, is due to leave tomorrow for Israel at the invitation of the Israeli Foreign Ministry. This will be the first time since June 1967 that a prominent member of the Gaullist bloc will visit Israel. The Independent Republicans are the junior partner in the government coalition where they are represented by Finance Minister Valery Giscard d’Estaign, a personal friend and a political ally of Poniatovsky. While in Israel, Poniatovsky, who will be accompanied by his wife, is expected to meet with Premier Golda Meir, Foreign Minister Abba Eban and other political leaders, Poniatovsky launched an attack last week on his party’s “blind and unconditional” acceptance of policy as laid down in the coalition by the Gaullist Party. In an interview with the weekly “Les Informations,” Poniatovsky also expressed his disagreement with the government’s Mediterranean policy. He declared that the government had failed on two counts in this field; in ensuring oil supplies to Western Europe and in permitting a still stronger Soviet infiltration in the Arab world. These views, combined with the political importance of Poniatovsky within his party, add extra weight to his forthcoming trip.