A six-member delegation of leftist Knesset members and representatives of peace groups left for Moscow today at the invitation of the Soviet Peace Council. They were roundly denounced by Likud spokesmen for making the trip.
The delegation consists of Shulamit Aloni and Aharon Arel, Labor Alignment MKs; Gen. (ret.) Mattityahu Peled of the Israel-Palestine Committee; Benny Barabash of Peace Now; Uzzi Burstein, a member of the Communist Party; and Muma Ukas of the Kfar Yasif village council. They maintained that the Soviet Union has a major role to play in Middle East peace efforts.
But Likud MK Benny Shalita thought it was reprehensible for Israelis to visit a country that should be incessantly denounced. “These people,” he said, referring to the delegation, “denounce anyone having anything to do with Argentina but they praise Moscow.”
Aloni said before her departure that she thought it was essential to continue a dialogue and to hold channels of communication open with a country which holds fellow Jews hostage and disregards human rights.
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