An attempt by Communists and members of the right-wing Herut Party to bar West German delegates from attending the forthcoming congress of the International Union of Local Municipal Authorities, scheduled to open here November 16, was defeated in the Tel Aviv City Council today.
The issue came before the Council on a motion for an appropriation of 71,000 Israeli pounds (almost $40,000) to help defray the expenses of the congress. Communist members of the Council, supported by Herut representatives, moved to defeat the appropriation measure because they objected to the fact that West Germans are expected among the 650 mayors and other city officials from all over the world scheduled to participate.
The Communists protested against Tel Aviv being host to “neo-Nazis from Germany,” while Herut councilmen warned against raising the German flag among the national banner to honor visiting congress delegations. Deputy Mayer Schechter told the objectors “we must accept reality if we want the Congress here.” The appropriation was approved by a majority vote over the negative votes by the Communists and Herut.
Mayor Robert F. Wagner, of New York; Sir Bernard Waley-Cohen, Lord Mayor of London; and West Berlin’s Governing Mayor Willy Brandt are among the famous municipal officials scheduled to attend the Congress. After holding sessions here, from November 16 to November 22, and being greeted by President Izhak Ben-Zvi and Minister of the Interior Moshe Shapira, the Congress is scheduled to adjourn for its final session, to be held in Jerusalem. There, the municipal authorities will be greeted by Jerusalem’s Mayor Mordechai Ish-Shalom, and by Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion.
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.
