Prime Minister Harold Macmillan, joined by Labor Party chief Hugh Gaitskell-and Liberal Party leader Jo Grimmond, paid tribute tonight to Ambassador Eliahu Elath of Israel. Britain’s statesmen spoke at a festive banquet at Grosvenor House sponsored by the Board of Deputies of British Jews as an observance of Israel’s tenth anniversary and as a personal tribute to its Ambassador.
This is the first time in many years that a Prime Minister has honored with his presence an Ambassador who is not leaving his post. Diplomatic circles stressed the symbolic significance of such an “exceptional” gesture and interpreted it as an underlining of the complete change which has occurred in the relations of the two countries.
In an interview prior to the dinner, Ambassador Elath expressed his view that the presence of the Prime Minister and leaders of the major British parties was a “warm and welcome tribute to Israel.” He noted that since the Sinai campaign, Britain has accepted Israel as an important political and military factor in the Middle East. Friendly attitudes are evident in official circles and in the economic field, he added.
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