Farid Sawan, representative of the Palestine Liberation Organization, and the Arab League Office in Brasilia have been warned by the Brazilian Foreign Minister that they face possible expulsion for publishing and distributing a pamphlet offensive to Premier Menachem Begin of Israel, in violation of Brazilian law.
The pamphlet, titled “Menachem Begin: The Story of a Terrorist,” was published by the Arab League Office in the capital to which Sawan is attached. Israel’s Ambassador Moshe Erell filed a protest with the Foreign Ministry demanding that “adequate measures” be taken against the PLO representative.
He said the pamphlet is not only offensive to Israel’s Prime Minister but is “pure and simple anti-Semitic propaganda in the style of a certain great European power,” an apparent reference to the Soviet Union. Erell charged that the PLO “is operating as the right hand of that great power and is receiving instructions from it.”
Foreign Minister Saraiva Guerreiro warned the Arab League and Sawan that Brazilian law forbids offending heads of foreign governments and that foreign diplomats are subject to expulsion for breaking this law. A spokesman for the Foreign Ministry, Bernardo Pericas, said the Ministry is investigating the case.
Sawan circulated the pamphlets among students at the university in Brasilia after the president of the university cancelled a lecture he had been invited to give there by a leftist student group.
Help ensure Jewish news remains accessible to all. Your donation to the Jewish Telegraphic Agency powers the trusted journalism that has connected Jewish communities worldwide for more than 100 years. With your help, JTA can continue to deliver vital news and insights. Donate today.
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.
