Asher Ben-Nathan, former director-general of Israel’s Ministry of Defense, arrived at the Bonn-Cologne airport yesterday to take up his duties as Israel’s first Ambassador to West Germany. In a brief statement–read first in German, then repeated in English and in French–he declared he saw his mission here as “a further milestone on the road toward a better future which will bring lasting peace and understanding between our two people.” He added that, “deeply aware” of the significance of his mission on German soil, he looked forward to his tasks here “with great expectation.”
Mr. Ben-Nathan noted also in his airport statement that he realized he was carrying a heavy responsibility and that Israel could not forget “the past.” However, he expressed the hope that the relations between Israel and the Federal Republic of Germany would insure that “the past” would not be repeated.
Ehrenfried von Holleben, chief of protocol of the German Foreign Ministry, formally greeted Israel’s envoy. Several leaders of the German Jewish community were also present to receive him. A few dozen spectators watched the brief ceremony from an airport balcony, since, as a matter of security, police allowed no one but Government officials, invited guests and journalists on the field.
Karl-Guenther von Hase, chief spokesman for the Government, issued a statement later saying that, with the arrival of Mr. Ben-Nathan here and last week’s arrival in Israel of Dr. Rolf Pauls, Bonn’s Ambassador to Israel, “preconditions have been created for good and objective cooperation” between the two governments.
Mr. Ben-Nathan was accompanied by his wife and their two children, Amnon, 17, and Miriam, 10. He was driven to a hotel in Cologne, 20 miles north of the city, where he will make his home temporarily until Israel’s new Embassy is completed at Bad Godesberg, a suburb south of the capital.
The Israeli envoy is expected to present his letters of credence to President Heinrich Luebke on August 24 or 25. Today, he made his first visit to a West German official, paying a courtesy call on Dr. Karl Carstens, State Secretary of the Foreign Ministry and acting Minister in the absence of Foreign Minister Gerhard Schroeder.
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