Defense Minister Ezer Weizman returned from an overnight trip to London this evening aboard on EI AI flight from Zurich, ending speculation as to where he had been but not the mystery that shrouded his activities.
Weizman jumped into his car at Ben Gurion Airport and left without making a statement. His trip to Landon, which was announced before his departure yesterday, gave rise to speculation that he would meet with some prominent Arab figure, possibly in connection with the resumption of Israeli-Egyptian peace talks. That possibility was given credence by the fact that he was accompanied by his military aide de camp, lion Tehila. The Defense Ministry insisted it was a private visit to meet with Anglo-Jewish leaders.
The mystery deepened today when Weizman left London for an unknown destination aboard a non-Israeli aircraft. It is now known that he was in Zurich, or at least at Zurich airport, where he boarded an EI AI flight home. But sources here said he may well have stopped off somewhere else in Europe for a secret meeting before emplaning at Zurich. (The Jewish Telegraphic Agency correspondent in London reported today that Weizman apparently did not dine with Marcus Sieff and Lord Rothschild last night, although the Israeli Embassy there said he did. Sieff was out of the country and Rothschild’s secretary said his Lordship did not meet with Weizman, the JTA reported.)
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.
