The prestigious Hamburg City Opera company announced today that it has cancelled its projected Israel tour next summer for financial reasons. Political circles hinted however, that the true reason was fear of a repetition of the violent anti-German demonstrations that occurred in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem during the celebration of German Culture Week in Israel last Nov. The Hamburg Opera was due to perform during the Israeli Summer Festival of 1972.
In Jerusalem, Israel Festival Director Zvi Propes said the Hamburg Opera had asked for over $215,000 to cover the expenses of the tour, Well informed sources here said today that the Bonn government had offered $75,000 and that German and other private sources agreed to cover the balance of the troupe’s expenses. The private grants were suddenly cancelled. Some of the donors expressed fear that the German troupe would be subjected to outbreaks by right-wing extremists in Israel. Israel Festival sources are said to believe there is a possibility that the Hamburg Opera will tour Israel in 1974.
More than 100 Christians, Moslems and Jews, wearing olive branch sprigs symbolizing peace, participated in a peace march on the occasion of the new year, They paused to worship at shrines of the three major faiths.
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.
