A delegation of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations told Acting French Ambassador Claude Harel yesterday that the recent wave of anti-Semitic outbreaks in France was not an internal French matter but symptomatic of a “rapidly-spreading infection” that deeply concerns Jews the world over.
The delegation comprising Julius Berman, chairman, and Yehuda Hellman, executive vice-chairman of the Presidents Conference, suggested that France, “as a matter of policy should publicly condemn PLO terrorism by name, whether it take place in France or anywhere on earth.”
In reply, Harel expressed his government’s “deep sorrow” at recent events in France and promised to transmit the Presidents Conference message to French Foreign Minister Claude Cheysson. He added, however, that he was doubtful the French government would publicly condemn the PLO.
Hyman Bookbinder, Washington representative of the American Jewish Committee, accompanied the President’s Conference leaders in their visit with Harel, which lasted 75 minutes.
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