President Yitzhak Navon sent condolence messages to Nairobi and Pretoria on the deaths yesterday of President Jomo Kenyatta of Kenya and President Nicolaas Diederichs of South Africa. In his message to Kenya, Navon stated:
“With deep sorrow we learned of the death of Jomo Kenyatta, a great leader and statesman and the father of a free and independent Kenya. In the name of the nation of Israel and myself, I wish to convey to His Excellency (Vice President Daniel Arap Moi, who was sworn in as acting President), to the Kenyan nation and to the bereaved family our deep and sincere sorrow.”
Kenya played a prominent role when Israel on July 4, 1976 staged its daring rescue of hostages held by terrorists at Entebbe Airport in Uganda. Although Kenya had no diplomatic relations with Israel, the Kenya government did not prevent Israeli rescue planes from landing briefly at Nairobi Airport on their way back to Israel. Both Israeli and Kenyan officials subsequently denied that Kenya had collaborated with Israel in carrying out the rescue mission.
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.
