One of President Francois Mitterrand’s top advisers, Jacques Attali, is leaving Sunday for Israel for talks with government members and opposition leaders. French officials say Attali, a 36-year-old Jewish professor of economy, will explain the French policy in the Middle East and lay the groundwork for Mitterrand’s visit to Israel early next year.
Foreign Minister Claude Cheysson is due to visit Israel later this month or early October and will next week confer with Israeli Foreign Minister Yitzhak Shamir in New York. Diplomatic sources say, however, that Attali is a close personal confidante of Mitterrand who considers him as his main adviser on Jewish and Israeli affairs.
Attali’s trip to Israel, where he will lecture at the Hebrew University, had been planned for some time. He was entrusted with his special mission in the wake of a growing misunderstanding between France and Israel. Attali, who will bring a personal message from Mitterrand to Premier Menachem Begin is due to meet the Israeli leader, members of the Cabinet and opposition Labor Pary leader Shimon Peres.
The Labor Party leader, who will attend the Socialist International conference in Paris next week, is expected to meet with Mitterrand during his stay in France. Peres is arriving in Paris Sept. 24 for a two-day stay.
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