A cultural, scientific and artistic exchange program between Peru and Israel for 1977-78 was signed here last Friday by representatives of the two governments.
Israeli Ambassador Aba Gefen, director of the cultural and scientific affairs division of Israel’s Foreign Ministry, told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency in an exclusive interview that it was the first time that representatives of the Peruvian and Israeli governments got together to elaborate a concrete program to implement the cultural accord both signed in 1962. At the ceremony last Friday, Ambassador Carlos Jimenez, director of the cultural affairs department of Peru’s Foreign Ministry, signed the agreement on behalf of his government.
The provisions of the accord include: teaching the language and culture of the other; exchanging textbooks and materials related to the history, geography and culture to insure correct knowledge in each of these areas; participation of intellectuals, scientists and artists of each country in international events organized by the other; and exchanging of teachers, researchers, technical experts, artists and journalists.
Immediate actions agreed upon are the exhibitions of the “Gold of Peru” collection at the Tel Aviv Museum later this year and the dedication of the “Peru Room” in the Hebrew University in Jerusalem.
SPIRIT OF COOPERATION
Before coming to Lima, Gefen signed similar exchange programs with representatives of the Uruguayan and Argentinian governments in Montevideo and Buenos Aires. The agreement with Argentina includes sending a folk lore group from that country to Israel in 1978 as an expression of solidarity with the Jewish State during its 30th anniversary celebration.
Gefen told the JTA that in each of the three countries he visited “the parties manifested a spirit of cooperation and understanding.” He noted that the three countries have a long-standing friendship with Israel and its people dating back to pre-Statehood days. “The links have been strengthened through the years with several and different exchange programs,” he observed. All this contributes to Israel and the three countries getting closer and helps the cultural enrichment of all the countries involved.”
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.
