The Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations announced today that it will sponsor a mass demonstration opposite the United Nations head quarters on Nov. 4, the opening date of the UN General Assembly debate on the Palestine Question. Rabbi Israel Miller, chairman of the Conference, said the demonstration will express “outrage” at the Assembly’s decision to invite the Palestine Liberation Organization to address the UN. The demonstration, to begin at noon at the Dag Hammarskjold Plaza, will Include people from the 32 member agencies of the Conference and people from New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Connecticut, according to Rabbi Miller.
According to reports, a 47-member delegation will represent the PLO at the Assembly debate, Yasir Arafat, the head of the PLO, is expected to lead the delegation, which will include a number of non-Palestinian advisers and experts on the Palestinian question. Following the Arab summit in Rabat, Morocco Oct. 26, PLO leaders are expected to convene a special meeting to finalize their strategy at the UN.
SAUVAGNARGUES-ARAFAT TALKS SCHEDULED
Meanwhile, reports arriving here from Beirut said that French Foreign Minister Jean Sauvagnargues and Arafat were due to hold talks tomorrow during the French leader’s two day visit to Lebanon. This will be the first official talks Arafat has had with a West European Foreign Minister. The talks are viewed as another step on the part of France to advance diplomatically in the Arab world, Sauvagnargues is continuing the French diplomatic offensive into the Arab world begun last Feb. by his predecessor, Michel Jobert, who visited Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Iraq and Syria.
In last week’s vote in the Assembly inviting the PLO to speak, France was one of the 105 countries voting in favor of the invitation. Only the U.S., Israel, Bolivia and the Dominican Republic voted against. In his talks with Lebanese leaders today, Sauvagnargues affirmed France’s support for the rights of the Palestinian people and reiterated that France continues to back UN Security Council resolutions on the Middle East.
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