American Jewish Journalists Find Israel Caught Up in International Crises Enveloping the Middle East

A group of American Jewish journalists, ending a six-day visit today, said they would convey to their readers at home Israel’s feeling of being caught up in the new international crises enveloping the Middle East. Referring to the situation in Iron and Afghanistan, Frank Wundohl, editor of the Jewish Exponent of Philadelphia, said his colleagues were imbued with the mounting concern in Israel over recent developments in the region.

Wundohl is also president of the American Jewish Press Association (A JPA), an organization of 70 American Jewish newspapers and magazines which held its study mission here last week. The more than 40 publishers and editors and other journalists conferred with top Israeli officials and were taken on extensive tours of Israel and the West Bank.

Wundohl noted that Israel finds itself at the crossroads between Europe and Asia, between. East and West and the concern for Israel’s special needs in view of the developments in the Middle East, especially against the background of mounting East-West tension, must be relayed to diaspora Jews.

The A’JPA meeting, which was also attended by editors and journalists for Israeli newspapers and Jewish papers in other countries, was held under the auspices of the World Federation of Jewish Journalists. One proposal diseased at the meeting was to set up a subsection within the Federation to include Jewish journalists writing in English-language newspapers. This would cover the U.S., Australia, South Africa, England and other countries where on English-Jewish press exists.

The meeting held in Jerusalem was addressed, among others, by Deputy Premier Yigael Yodin, and Interior Minister Yosef Burg, who heads the Israeli ministerial negotiating team in the autonomy talks with Egypt. Another speaker was Leon Dulzin, chairman of the World Zionist Organization and Jewish Agency Executives.