Msgr. Ernesto Segura, Bishop of the Buenos Aires suburb of Belgrano, today urged the Israel Government to rebuild its commercial exhibit destroyed by fire at the Buenos Aires fairgrounds a week ago. Msgr. Segura spoke to Israel’s Ambassador, Moshe Alon, on behalf of the Association for the Argentine House in Israel, of which the Bishop is chairman. He stressed that the exhibit was important for relations between the two countries and said “we are absolutely sure that all national circles will unit to overcome all difficulties in the way of this great endeavor of the spirit.” Ambassador Alon replied that “this request is very encouraging for us” and expressed the hope that the Israel Government and people would consider it.”
The $2 million Israeli pavilion, which was to have opened on Oct. 8, contained displays of Israeli industrial and agricultural equipment and a wide range of other Israeli merchandise and cultural items. Initial reports attributed the fire to two incendiary bombs and indicated that sabotage was responsible. But Argentina’s Interior Minister Dr. Guillermo Borda said last week that the evidence was insufficient to rule that the fire was a criminal act. The DAIA, central representative body of Argentine Jewry, last week insisted that evidence pointed to sabotage.
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