The escalation of warfare on the Syrian front and the deteriorating situation of Jews in Syria were matters raised by Israeli Ambassador Yosef Tekoah with Secretary General Kurt Waldheim at a meeting here today. The meeting was held at the Secretary General’s request, a spokesman for the Israeli UN Mission reported. They also discussed the Security Council meeting, scheduled to open within the next few days, to take up an extension of the mandate of the United Nations Emergency Force (UNEF) in the Middle East.
According to the spokesman, Tekoah stressed the need to impress the Syrian authorities with the seriousness of the situation they were causing by escalating their military action in violation of the cease-fire. Referring to Syrian Jews Tekoah noted the recent murders of four Syrian Jewish women and two Jewish men whose bodies were dumped on a Damascus street. He recalled a proposal made by former Secretary General U Thant that Syrian Jews be allowed to leave Syria. Waldheim promised to deal with the matter which he said was of a humanitarian nature and one which he has dealt with before, the spokesman reported.
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