David Shaham, editor of New Outlook, has threatened to institute a libel suit against Labor Party Knesset member Danny Rosolio for implying that the symposium the magazine was sponsoring in Washington in October is being financed by the CIA or other United States government agencies. Shaham sent Rosolio a letter Tuesday demanding an official retraction and apology or be sued for libel. In order to do this, Rosolio’s Knesset immunity would have to be revoked.
The Knesseter, on emerging leader of the Labor Party and secretary of the party-sponsored Ichud Hakvutzot Vehakibbutzim, made the implication during a discussion several days ago over whether invited Labor Party Knesset members should agree to participate in the symposium. He asked how a magazine with a rather limited circulation can finance payments for a large group of people to travel from Israel to Washington.
Shaham said that funds for the conference and travel expenses for those who require them come from many contributors, mostly from those who also contribute to Jewish fund-raising agencies in the United States and to various Israeli institutions. He promised to make public the names of all contributors once he has their agreement to do so.
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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.