President Shazar of Israel completed today a three-day visit here and left on a special plane provided by the Brazilian Air Force for Rio de Janeiro. He was bade farewell by Laudo Natel, Governor of the Sao Paulo state and Air Force officials.
The President and his entourage continued on the final day of the visit here the same whirlwind schedule he has been following since he arrived in Uruguay last month for a South American tour. He made a triumphal tour of the traditional Jewish quarter of Bon Retiro where thousands of Jewish and non-Jewish residents lined the streets.
The Sao Paulo Jewish Federation organized a banquet for the President attended by more than 500 Jewish community leaders. President Shazar replied to welcoming speeches at the banquet both in Yiddish and in Hebrew, giving his impressions of the situation in the South American countries he has visited so far.
He said he was profoundly convinced of the future of the Jews here but he asked that they also include Israel in their plans for that future. A luncheon for Mrs. Shazar was attended by 350 women leaders of local Jewish organizations. Mrs. Shazar said she had also been deeply impressed by the quality of Jewish life she had seen. She urged the community to assure the Jewish future of its youth by a truly Jewish home which “should always be the foremost Jewish duty of the Jewish wife and mother.”
The President also met with the board of the Brazil-Israel Chamber of Commerce and Industry. Many leading figures of Sao Paulo commerce and industry attended the meeting. The President was given information indicating that trade between Israel and Brazil could easily be increased on a substantial scale.
He had a private meeting with Sao Paulo Mayor Faria Lima and several city council members. In the evening, more than 2,000 persons met the Presidential couple at a reception arranged by the Jewish Federation of Sao Paulo. The President was presented with a specially coined medal.
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