Reports that Premier Yitzhak Shamir is seeking an invitation from the Reagan Administration to visit the United States before Israel’s elections on July 23 were denied today by Shamir’s spokesman, Yossef Ahimeir.
A report to that effect in Haaretz yesterday was promptly denied by the Prime Minister’s Office. The Labor-affiliated newspaper Davar published a second report today, from Washington, alluding to “reservations” in official quarters there over alleged efforts by Shamir “to impose himself” on the Administration.
Ahimeir criticized Davar for publishing the story, saying it was uncalled for in light of the official denial yesterday. He said there was no truth to reports that Shamir seeks to visit the U.S.
Shamir met today with Robert Strauss, a former Democratic Party National Chairman who served for a time as President Carter’s special envoy to the Middle East. According to official sources, the long stalled autonomy talks, which were the subject of Strauss’ several trips to the region in 1979, did not come up at his meeting with Shamir today.
Asked by Strauss what message he would like conveyed to President Hosni Mubarak of Egypt, who Strauss will meet in Cairo, Shamir replied that Israel welcomed Egypt’s improvement of its ties with the Arab world but felt strongly that this should not be done “at the expense of Egypt’s ties with Israel.”
Strauss supports former Vice President Walter Mondale who is seeking the Democratic Presidential nomination. He told Shamir he believed Mondale could defeat President Reagan next November “if Jesse Jackson behaves.” He did not elaborate. He said if Mondale is elected, he would be “the most pro-Israel President since….” Shamir completed the sentence, interjecting diplomatically, “since Ronald Reagan.” (By David Landau)
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.
