Israeli Foreign Minister Moshe Dayan arrived here this afternoon for a four-day official visit during which he will confer with Italian President Giovanni Leone and other top Italian officials. Dayan is also due to meet Pope Paul VI at Vatican City on Thursday. He will be the first Israeli Cabinet minister to meet the Pope officially since Golda Meir’s visit to the Vatican in Jan. 1973.
Dayan, who is accompanied by his wife, Rachel, was greeted at Rome’s military airport at Ciampino by Italian Foreign Minister Arnaldo Forlani. Extraordinary security measures were taken for his arrival, with heavily armed carabinieri lining the road into the city and an army helicopter hovering over the airport when his EI AI plane landed.
Rome is the European capital with the largest Arab population, including thousands of militant pro-Libyan Arab students, and the authorities were taking no chances.
The Israeli minister’s trip to Rome is part of Israel’s current attempt to improve relations with the European Economic Community (EEC) and the Vatican. A senior Vatican source told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency that Dayan’s forthcoming meeting with the Pope “will take place at a favorable time.”
The official said the release by Israel of Msgr. Hilarion Capucci “has cleared the atmosphere.” The source said the Vatican was also impressed by the exchange of visits between Egyptian President Anwar Sadat and Israeli Premier Menachem Begin.
VATICAN INTERESTED IN THREE ISSUES
The Vatican reportedly intends to raise three main issues during Dayan’s meeting with the Pope: the status of the holy places; the preservation of Jerusalem’s character and the Palestinian issue. Israeli sources have made it clear that Dayan has “no intention to negotiate” with the Pope either on Jerusalem or on any other crucial matter.
The relations between the Vatican and Israel have sufficiently improved, however, for a working dialogue between the two. The Vatican has still not recognized Israel and the previous visits of Premier Moshe Sharett in 1952, Former Foreign Minister Abba Eban in 1969 and Premier Golda Meir in 1973, indicated a total lack of mutual understanding.
The Vatican’s position has, however, “softened” sufficiently in recent months to enable a better understanding, diplomatic sources here said. The sources believe the Vatican will abstain from any unfriendly statements and will try to reach some agreement on free access to the holy sites and a certain administrative autonomy for Catholic institutions and establishments in Jerusalem.
Relations with Italy have also improved in recent months, diplomatic sources here said. The general improvement in the Middle East has affected the Italian government which traditionally adopts a militant pro-Arab attitude similar to that of France. Though it still relies on the Arabs for 70 percent of its oil imports, Italy is increasingly looking for new sources of supply and this development has also helped to somewhat improve Israeli-Italian relations.
Basically Italy still objects to increased Israeli exports to the nine-member Common Market area, especially citrus. But even in this field diplomats feel there is room for considerable improvement.
Dayan will visit Italian citrus groves in Sicily on Wednesday and will discuss trade improvements with Forlani and other aides. A moving moment will take place Thursday morning when, just before his meeting with the Pope, the Israeli minister will visit the Ardeatine Caves where the Nazis shot 335 hostages, including a large number of Italian Jews. Dayan will return to Israel on Thursday.
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