Chancellor Willy Brandt announced today that he has accepted an invitation from Premier Golda Meir to visit Israel. He will be the first West German Chancellor ever to visit the Jewish State. Brandt made the announcement at luncheon of the Foreign Press Association where he was guest of honor. He received the invitation this morning through the Israeli Ambassador, Eliahu Ben Horin. Brandt told the newsmen at the luncheon that “the exact date (of his visit) will be arranged through diplomatic channels.”
He also stressed, in reply to questions, that his visiting Israel would not affect the Bonn government’s present policy of seeking to restore normal diplomatic relations with the Arab states. “The Arabs know that we have good relations with Israel and Israel knows of our wish for a normalization of our relations with the Arabs. To maintain this kind of balance is, precisely, our policy,” Brandt said.
The invitation from Mrs. Meir was long expected here and its delay in arriving put some strain on the good relations between Bonn and Israel. Political circles here accused the Israeli premier of vacillating. They noted that reports of an imminent invitation to Brandt had appeared in Israeli newspapers for some time but no invitation was forthcoming which was embarrassing to Bonn. Circles here said Mrs. Meir’s hesitation stemmed from the knowledge that if she invites Brandt to Israel she would have to accept a reciprocal invitation from him to visit West Germany. Mrs. Meir has avoided visiting Germany in the past.
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.
