The immigration office of the Israeli mission has been closed down temporarily by government authorities on the grounds that the office was operating as a consulate without ever having officially notified the Argentine Government. The official explanation said that despite the fact that consular relations between Israel and Argentina do not exist, the immigration office has teen serving in a consular capacity.
Arieh Chill, immigration official of the Israeli Government here, in a statement to the Jewish Telegraphic Agency, said that his office had never referred to itself as a consulate and, outside of issuing Israeli visas, it performed no consular functions, More than 300 Israeli visas were issued by the office since March 1, it was disclosed.
It was learned today that the Immigration Department has turned down visa applications for 25 Israeli teachers who were invited by Zionist organizations here to teach in Argentina. The new director of the Department–Col. L. Gonzalez–previously promised a Jewish delegation that the visas would be granted. The teachers were invited to come here to help relieve the acute shortage of Hebrew teachers in this country.
“Well-informed sources said here that the Argentine Foreign Ministry has suggested to the Tel Aviv Government that Pablo Manguel, a leader in the pro-Peron Jewish group “Organization Israelita Argentina,” be named Israeli Ambassador to Argentina.
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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.
