U.S. Presidential candidate John Anderson dropped plans to visit Jordan after King Hussein let it be known that he would not receive him. The Republican Congressman from Illinois who is running for the Presidency as an independent, arrived in Israel yesterday for a four-day visit.
Although Israel and Egypt are the only Middle East countries on his itinerary, Anderson’s aides sought to include Jordan. They were rebuffed apparently because of Anderson’s statement in an interview in the Jerusalem Past that he would not differentiate between East and West Jerusalem and would visit both parts of the city escorted by Mayor Teddy Kollek and Israel government officials.
Last night Anderson met with Acting Premier Yigael Yadin at the Knesset. Yadin complained that the U.S. had abstained rather than vetoed the Security Council resolution of June 30 condemning Israel’s activities in Jerusalem. Anderson did not reply directly to that issue. But he reiterated the statement he made of Ben Gurion Airport yesterday that he favored moving the U.S. Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem “as a final act of the peace process.”
Anderson met with Knesset Foreign Affairs and Security Committee chairman Moshe Arens last night. Today he met with Shimon Peres, chairman of the opposition Labor Party, and several prominent Laborites, including former Foreign Minister Abba Eban, former UN Ambassador Chaim Herzog and the former Israeli Ambassador to Washington, Simcha Dinitz.
Afterwards, Peres praised Anderson’s statement on Jerusalem. He told reporters that he had stressed to his guest that “there is no difference in Israel between opposition and coalition” where Jerusalem is concerned.
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