The Cabinet Sunday pointedly refused to issue a formal statement condemning King Hussein of Jordan for playing host to President Kurt Waldheim of Austria last week.
But Premier Yitzhak Shamir, who blocked a formal condemnation, lashed out himself against Jordan later in the day. He told a visiting group of Canadian Jewish leaders that the invitation to the Austrian head of state, who is suspected of complicity in Nazi war crimes, and the Jordanian media’s “vicious attacks on Israel during Waldheim’s visit” were “an affront to the Jewish people and Israel.”
Waldheim visited the Jordanian kingdom July 1-5. It was his first trip abroad since his audience with Pope John Paul II at the Vatican June 25. Shamir told the Cabinet that while Hussein’s welcome to Waldheim was certainly “worthy of condemnation,” Israel could not condemn “every act.”
He refused to place on the Cabinet agenda a long statement presented by Minister of Commerce and Industry Ariel Sharon, who compared the Jordanian monarch to Haj Amin el-Husseini, the pre-war Grand Mufti of Jerusalem who was an avid admirer of Hitler.
Shamir’s forbearance was seen as a gesture toward Foreign Minister Shimon Peres who, while angered by Hussein’s invitation of Waldheim, does not want to publicly condemn him for fear of prejudicing chances of progress with Jordan in the peace process.
Waldheim’s alleged complicity in Nazi atrocities when he served as a Wehrmacht intelligence officer in the Balkans during World War II had kept him isolated diplomatically since his election a year ago. His visit to the Pope caused world-wide consternation among Jews and non-Jews alike. He is officially barred from admission into the United States, and so far no Western European country has invited him. Of the Eastern bloc, only Hungary has extended an invitation.
However, Egypt, Libya, Uganda and Iraq have indicated he would be welcome. On June 30, the Foreign Minister of Iran, Ali Akbar Velayati, extended a second invitation on behalf of his country.
JTA has documented Jewish history in real-time for over a century. Keep our journalism strong by joining us in supporting independent, award-winning reporting.
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.
