The Israel Government intends to name a Minister for the Diaspora who will establish closer contact between Israel and Jewish communities outside of Israel, it was revealed here today by Dr. Emanuel Neumann, chairman of the American section of the Jewish Agency.
Dr. Neumann, who is here to attend the plenary meeting of the Jewish Agency executive, stressed that the Jewish Agency — which is carrying out the function of maintaining contact between Israel and Jews in countries outside of Israel — has not been consulted on the matter. “I hope that no decision will be taken by the Israel Government before the Agency is consulted,” he stated.
He urged that the Agency should be given definite political goals, and proposed the re-establishment of the Agency’s political department, which had been disbanded when the State of Israel was proclaimed in 1948.
Dr. Neumann reported that Jewish organizations in the United States were disturbed by reports from Washington to the effect that the United States had participated in underwriting huge, Western arms supplies to Saudi Arabia. Expressing the opinion that “there is no doubt that President Johnson is anxious to keep Israel free,” he declared that further information should be obtained from Washington about its motives for the decision to sell armaments to Saudi Arabia.
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The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
