Meir Wilner, co-leader of the Israeli Communist faction consisting largely of Arabs hostile to Israel, opened the national convention of his group here today with a speech considered surprisingly moderate.
Mr. Wilner declared Israel has as much right as any other country to exist. He condemned “any call for Israel’s destruction.” He stated that Israel has a right to its fair share of the waters of the Jordan River. Tufik Toubi, Wilner’s co-leader of the group, told the 273 delegates, Arab and Jewish, attending the parley, that their group constitutes the “true Communist party of Israel” because of its binational character.
A platform including all of the very points made in the Wilner speech had been adopted earlier by the competing faction, which calls itself officially the Israeli Communist Party. That faction, comprised chiefly of Jews, is led by Shmuel Mikunis and Moshe Snen. The latter group concluded its three-day convention yesterday by re-election Mr. Mikunis as its secretary-general.
It was reported here today that both groups, which split the Communist Party of Israel last week, expect to send delegations to Moscow to explain their differing points of view.
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.
