American diplomats appear to have a fixation that the Jewish Telegraphic Agency is the “Israeli press.” Joseph Polakoff, JTA Washington Bureau Chief, was given that appellation by Secretary of State Henry A. Kissinger as the latter emerged from testifying before the House International Relations Committee today.
Kissinger was approached by a CBS newsman who asked the Secretary if he ought to take his vacation July 11. The question was apparently to elicit from Kissinger whether he expected any major international developments at about that time. Glancing at Polakoff, who was writing on a pad, Kissinger quipped, “Look at the Israeli press taking notes.” The Secretary, though speaking in jest, seemed to imply that whenever he advised the CBS newsman to take his vacation, the Israelis would regard it as some form of pressure on them.
Kissinger was advised that the JTA is not the “Israeli” press but an American news corporation. A similar misidentification was made earlier this week by Malcolm Toon, the career foreign service diplomat whose nomination as U.S. Ambassador to Israel was confirmed by the Senate yesterday. Toon declined to answer a certain question at a Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing on grounds that the “Israeli” press was present in the hearing chamber. He looked toward Polakoff. There were no Israeli reporters present.
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