Israel spread out the welcome mat Sunday for South African President F.W. De Klerk, the first president of his country to visit the Jewish state since 1975.
Accompanied by his wife, Marike, De Klerk was formally welcomed by President Chaim Herzog and Prime Minister Yitzhak Shamir in the Jerusalem Rose Garden overlooking the Knesset.
Other government leaders and members of the opposition attended the ceremonies, at which De Klerk hailed the contributions of South African Jewry and commended them for their loyalty both to their home country and ” their country, Israel.”
De Klerk’s entourage included a contingent of leaders from South Africa’s Jewish community, headed by Chief Rabbi Cyril Harris.
Ronny Silbermann, executive director of the South African Zionist Federation, said everyone was ” truly moved” by the South African president’s recognition and approval of the double loyalty of South African Jews.
De Klerk said he was making the visit to inform Israelis about the dynamic process in South Africa, which, under his government, has dismantled much of the structure of apartheid.
Herzog praised De Klerk’s “courageous and far-sighted” policy and said Israel is following closely “the emergence of a new South Africa under your leadership.”
Shamir expressed Israel’s appreciation of the changes taking place in South Africa, especially in the realm of human rights.
De Klerk promised that the ” new South Africa” would maintain the strong relationship it has had with Israel over the years. During his stay, the two countries will sign memoranda of agreement on cooperation in a number of fields.
A MAJOR TRADING PARTNER
De Klerk’s visit would not have been possible a few months ago. It was only in July that Israel, following the lead of the United States, lifted the economic and cultural sanctions it had imposed on South Africa four years earlier.
Israel all along coordinated its policy toward South Africa with U.S. policy. It acted swiftly when President Bush decided on July 10 that Pretoria had complied with the five conditions set by the U.S. Congress to remove sanctions.
South Africa was one of Israel’s foremost trading partners until 1986, when the U.S. Congress overrode then President Ronald Reagan’s veto and penalized South Africa for its apartheid policies by imposing economic sanctions.
Israel did the same in March 1987, after Washington threatened to cut off aid to any country that continued dealing with South Africa.
Israel claimed the cutoff of commerce with South Africa cost it dearly in terms of its trade deficit. But Israeli sources have admitted that some commerce continued. Commercial, cultural and even military contacts continued as long as they were conducted on the basis of contracts signed prior to March 1987.
De Klerk’s visit ends Wednesday. In addition to meetings with government leaders, he will attend a Jewish National Fund tree-planting ceremony and will visit projects funded by South African Jews through the United Israel Appeal Keren Hayesod.
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