Deputy Premier and Education Minister Yigal Allon expressed regret today, at the opening session of the Sixth International Conference on Water Pollution Research here, that the 200 representatives from 37 countries did not include a single Arab delegate. “We would have welcomed them here even without peace,” he told the delegates. “We would have granted them visas and would have done everything we could have to make them feel welcome.” He said be had hoped the Arabs “would have felt the desire for peace and cooperation that is so strong in Israel.”
Allon called the avoidance of abatement of water pollution one of the most pressing problems of the modern world. He said it was the task of scientists to propose remedies as quickly as possible and the duty of governments to give the experts assistance and encouragement. The number of delegates and countries represented were both higher than conference planners had anticipated because of many last-minute arrivals. There was enthusiastic cheering from the participants particularly for delegates from Hungary, Czechoslovakia, Yugoslavia, South Vietnam, Afghanistan, Iran, Turkey and Spain. A large delegation came from Japan and a small one from Puerto Rico.
JTA has documented Jewish history in real-time for over a century. Keep our journalism strong by joining us in supporting independent, award-winning reporting.
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.
