President Raul Alfonsin has assured the DAIA, the representative body of Argentine Jewry, that there is “no possibility” that the Palestine Liberation Organization will be allowed to open an office in Argentina.
A delegation of the DAIA, which is the World Jewish Congress affiliate here, was received by Alfonsin for an hour-long meeting described afterwards as “very cordial.” The delegation was headed by the newly elected president of the DAIA, David Goldberg.
The purpose of the meeting was to express concern to Alfonsin over the PLO propaganda offensive which began November 29, the “International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People.” It culminated with a New Year’s Day statement by the President of the Argentine-Arab Foundation that it was “quite likely” that the government would allow the PLO to open an office in this country in 1985. (See January 8 Bulletin.)
Goldberg said after the meeting that Alfonsin had assured the DAIA that his government would not give official backing to “any initiative which might introduce problems that are alien to us and which would harm national unity.”
Alfonsin, according to Goldberg, “categorically affirmed that there had not been nor would there be any change in the ethical and moral guidelines of this government and that there was no possibility of a PLO office being established.”
ADL LEADER ISSUES A WARNING
(In New York, Abraham Foxman, national director of the Anti-Defamation League of B’nai B’rith and head of its international affairs division, said today that Alfonsin’s assurances are “encouraging.” He warned, however, that the PLO and its supporters will continue trying to gain a foothold there.
(Foxman pointed out that Argentina, which under the most difficult political and economic conditions has just returned to a democratic government, “is particularly vulnerable to disruptive activities of PLO propagandists and terrorists.” He praised Alfonsin for his understanding of the problem and his efforts to deal with it.)
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