An exhibition was opened here today depicting the German-Israeli youth exchange program which has been going on for a number of years. The opening was attended by Israel’s Ambassador to West Germany, Itzchak Ben Ari, and the Bonn Minister of Youth and Family, Heiner Geissler.
The exchange is important to both countries. It is subsidized largely by the West German Federal government and the Federal states and is the largest program of its kind for Germany, except for youth exchange with France. For Israel, the program is by far the most extensive. There was a sharp decline in 1982 because of the Lebanon war and the anti-Israel attitudes it engendered in Germany. There was, however, a slight upturn last year. But official sources say there is an increasing tendency among West German youth groups to choose exchanges with Arab countries rather than with Israel.
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