An expression of hope that the warm relations which have developed between Israel and the Union of South Africa in the past decade will continue and increase was voiced in a message by South African Premier J. G. Strijdom to a special 12-page Israel supplement of “Die Transvaler,” Nationalist daily in this city.
The Premier noted that Israel, as “the land of the Bible, ” has a special significance as a “beacon on the long path of human relations.” As a nation with a strong religious spirit, Mr. Strijdom wrote, “South Africa can scarcely forget that prophecy which 20 centuries ago said that the desert should bloom as a rose. To the blooming land of our Twentieth Century,” he continued, “congratulations on its tenth birthday.”
Other articles in Die Transvaler’s Israel anniversary supplement were contributed by leaders of the South African Jewish community and Zionist movement. Special pieces described the history of the rise of Israel and the establishment of bonds of friendship between the two countries.
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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.