The first Israeli Knesset delegation to visit West Germany was present today at the opening ceremony of “Israel Week” here. Germans and Jews spoke of the warm relations that exist between the two countries. The delegation, headed by David Hacohen, chairman of the Foreign Affairs and Security Committee, also includes Shimon Peres, former deputy Defense Minister. The delegation was welcomed by Israel Ambassador Asher Ben-Nathan and Bonn Interior Minister Ernst Benda. The Israelis will meet West German government leaders tomorrow.
The parliamentary mission was invited by the Bundestag, West Germany’s lower house, and was boycotted by members of the Achdut Haavoda wing of the Israel Labor Party and members of the leftist Mapam Party and Herut wing of Gahal (Herut-Liberal alignment) who were opposed to visiting Germany as a matter of principle. Also boycotting the mission were the four-member Free Center, the two Agudat and Communist factions of the Knesset.
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