A firm stand on the part of the United States and France thwarted an Iraqi attempt to oust Israel from the World Tourist Organization, it was disclosed here today by Rabbi Shmuel Nata, advisor on foreign affairs to the Ministry of Tourism.
Rabbi Nata, who just returned from the WTO convention in Madrid attended by 500 delegates from 89 countries, reported that all of the Arab countries represented showed relatively moderate attitudes toward Israel, with the exception of Iraq., He said the Lebanese delegate who was on the credentials committee did not object to receiving Israel’s credentials. The Iraqi delegate, however, sought support for a resolution ousting Israel from the organization.
The effort was defeated largely by the delegates of the U.S. and France who argued convincingly that tourism should be kept free from politics and the WTO must retain its universal nature, Rabbi Nata reported.
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