Argentine Demonstrates Resumption of Cordial Relations with Israel

The resumption of cordial relations between Israel and Argentina following the diplomatic estrangement over the Eichmann affair was underscored here yesterday by the ample attendance of high government officials at the opening of an exhibition on Biblical archaeology brought here by the Israel Department of Antiquities in honor of the 150th anniversary of Argentine independence.

The Argentine Foreign Ministry was represented at the opening ceremonies by Deputy Foreign Minister Luis Mackay, the Ministry’s highest ranking official in the absence of Foreign Minister Diogenes Taboada, who is attending the United Nations General Assembly in New York. Featured in the exhibit are a small fragment of the Dead Sea Scrolls and a 20-foot-square corner of a mosaic floor from a Fifth Century Palestinian synagogue. The exhibition also includes earthenware objects, coins, parts of garments and other items,

Also representing the Argentine Government were Public Works Minister Rafael Costantini, Foreign Ministry Undersecretary Lafuente and Luis Maria de Pablo Pardo, legal adviser to the Foreign Ministry, who played a major role in the negotiations with Israel following the Eichmann affair. Other prominent Argontinians who attended the opening of the exhibit included Professor Frederico Monjardin, Speaker of the Chamber of Deputies; Professor Hector Blas Gonzalez, general director of the Department of Culture and Jorge Romero Brest, director of the National Art Museum. Representing Israel were Mordechai Avida, Charge d’Affaires of the Israel Embassy here and Dr. Penucl P. Kahane, director general of the Israel Department of Antiquities.