Four leaders of the Israeli delegation to the Warsaw Ghetto memorial ceremonies have cut short their visit. They are returning to Israel, angered that the Polish authorities failed to prevent a Palestine Liberation Organization representative from laying a wreath at the memorial to the Warsaw Ghetto fighters — an incident Interior Minister Yosef Burg likened to the desecration of a grave.
But the 40 other members of the Israeli delegation are remaining in Poland to four Nazi death camp sites. They have demanded an apology from the Polish government which had given its assurances that the PLO would be allowed no role whatever in the memorial tribute.
The group visited Treblinka today although Voice of Israel Radio reported from Warsaw that they would boycott the official ceremony there as a sign of protest.
The four returning to Israel are Mayor Shlomo Lahat of Tel Aviv; Avner Shalev, an official of the Education Ministry; Haim Kubersky, Director General of the Interior Ministry; and David Rivlin of the Foreign Ministry. According to the radio report, one of the four is leaving Warsaw today and the others will leave tomorrow because they were unable to get tickets on earlier flights.
OFFICIAL NOTE OF PROTEST
In its official note of protest, the Israeli delegation called the placing of a wreath by the PLO on a monument to Jewish martyrs a “cynical act and a desecration of the memory of the victims” of the Nazis. Lahat praised Polish hospitality but described the behavior of the Polish authorities in this matter as “cheating.”
The Warsaw media has Ignored the incident and there has been no official meeting between the Israeli delegation and the authorities, Voice of Israel Radio reported. However, in unofficial contacts with the Israelis, Polish officials explained that the PLO representative placed the wreath yesterday afternoon without the knowledge of the authorities. They said a PLO wreath laid on the monument on the morning prior to the memorial ceremonies had been removed before the ceremonies began.
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