The fate of the first conference which was to have reunited Israeli and Arab representatives discussing peace in the Middle East is now uncertain. This was stated by circles close to the Italian Preparatory Committee of the Bologna Conference, which met here today. The Italian Preparatory Committee was created by members of the Italian Socialist, Left-Socialist, Christian Democrat, Communist and leftist formations that had agreed to help the Bologna conference on peace in the Middle East, scheduled in Bologna in Dec. An initiative for holding the conference had gone out from the Egyptian pro-Communist Peace Movement and, particularly, by the movement’s chairman. Khaled Mohieddinne. Israelis, as well as Arabs and members of the International Committee of the Left for Peace in the Middle East were asked to participate. However, following the worsening of relations between the Communists and the Arab world, particularly in Sudan and Egypt, a crisis has broken out in the conference. Particularly serious was the house-arrest three weeks ago of Mohieddinne, in Cairo. Meanwhile, it was stated that Mohieddinne had been freed.
A decision on the Bologna conference-which might be postponed indefinitely-is expected before Sept. 15.
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.
