Israel’s national interests and cordial feelings toward West Germany’s Chancellor Willy Brandt outweighed Premier Golda Meir’s personal reluctance to visit West Germany which she will most probably do as a consequence of her invitation to Brandt to visit Israel, it was indicated here today.
Government officials, questioned by reporters, said the invitation which Brandt received and promptly accepted, means that Mrs. Meir has decided to accept an invitation to return the visit which is usually extended in such instances. The officials would not discuss the Cabinet deliberations which preceded Mrs. Meir’s decision to invite Brandt.
It was clear, nevertheless, that the steadily improving relations between Bonn and Israel and Brandt’s personal credentials as a Socialist and anti-Nazi played a part in her decision. West Germany is assisting Israel in many fields and is one of her foremost trading partners, circles here pointed out. Moreover, it is West Germany and the Netherlands which usually support Israel in its dealings with the European Common Market.
There have been objections by some Israelis, mainly by the Gahal faction, to an invitation to Brandt. On the other hand, Meir Yaari, Mapam leader, said that despite his personal admiration for Brandt, he would prefer no official visit by the German leader. Haim Landau, of Gahal, claimed that a Brandt visit would offend millions of Jews. Last summer Israel welcomed West Germany’s Foreign Minister Walter Scheel on his first official visit to the Jewish State, Scheele was returning Israeli Foreign Minister Abba Eban’s earlier visit to West Germany.
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.
