Foreign Minister Yitzhak Shamir formally protested today to Egyptian Ambassador Sood Mortoda over yet another anti-Israel statement in the Egyptian daily Al-Gumhouriya. The paper published last week a cartoon depicting Adolf Hitler handing a medal to Premier Menachem Begin and Israel protested that cartoon. In response, the paper published an “apology” — to Hitler.
“We apologize to Adolf Hitler because he did not murder the desire of the peoples of the world for peace, but mode peace a target and a hope. Hitler did not murder the desire of the Jews to live, but increased their lust for life and Hitler bears most of the responsibility for the establishment of the State of Israel. On the other hand, Begin killed the desire for peace in the hearts of Egypt, Israel and the U.S.
“The Palestinians, (King) Hussein (of Jordan) and the rest of the Arabs refrain from joining the peace negotiations because Begin has not done a thing to encourage additional parties to join the negotiations. He even pushed Egypt herself to suspend the negotiations.”
Shamir called in Mortoda and told him the article demonstrated a total lock of understanding and sensitivity on the part of the writers of the tragic significance of the Holocaust to the Jewish people. Mortoda promised to convey the Israeli protest to Cairo.
EGYPT REJECTS SAUDI CALL FOR WAR AGAINST ISRAEL
Meanwhile, it was reported from Cairo today that Egypt rejected a call yesterday by Crown Prince Fahd of Saudi Arabia for a holy war against Israel as “the only answer to this Zionist religious and racist arrogance.” Fahd declared that the talk about peace with Israel “has become a kind of illusion.”
Egyptian senior Deputy Prime Minister Fouod Mohieddin told reporters that Egypt would not give up on its peace efforts with Israel. “We have our awn true Arab line which we have been following since 1973,” the year of Egypt’s last war with Israel. Mohieddin added that so for no other country has come up with a better alternative than the Comp David agreements.
(In Washington, a State Department spokesman, David Passage, said that Fahd’s call for a holy war “itself does not look to us as though it signals a changed Saudi position. It is a restatement of the existing Saudi position as we understand it. The important thing to note” is that Fahd “did not rule out diplomacy.” While the State Deportment saw the Saudi stance as unchanged, media reports received here noted the statement marked a departure from Saudi Arabia’s previous “moderate” position.)
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