The Syrian Mission’s counsellor welcomed a delegation of three Jews today for a prearranged discussion of the situation of Syrian Jew, then ended the meeting before it began on learning that one of his visitors was an Israeli. The three members of the World Union of Jewish Students–Yona Yahav, secretary general, an Israeli; Martin Salowitz, North American representative, and Marc Mishaan, chairman of the Association of Sephardic Jews–had an appointment with Dia-Allah el-Fattal, the third-ranking official of the Syrian Mission.
It was not immediately clear if he had noted in advance his refusal to meet with an Israeli, as the discussion was arranged through an American Mission intermediary who was not available for comment. A spokeswoman for Fattal told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency that the counsellor was willing to meet with “any Jewish person” other than an Israeli.
Salowitz told the JTA that before inviting them in, Fattal asked if the three were members of the Jewish Defense League and was told they were not. In his room he asked their names and nationalities. On learning Yahav’s nationality, he asked the trio to leave, even though Yahav was not representing Israel and WUJS is London-based.
Salowitz indicated that WUJS would ask for another meeting and not include an Israeli in that delegation. He added: “We expect to press the issue. We’re not taking the issue lying down.” Describing the aborted session as “friendly,” Salowitz said of Fattal: “He was not rude. He just simply suggested that we leave.”
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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.
