Foreign Minister Moshe Dayan told the Cabinet today that the arrival in Cairo this weekend of two Israeli television journalists on Israeli passports had embarrassed and upset the Egyptian authorities, this despite the warm and friendly welcome the two men have received there.
He said the embarrassment was caused in Cairo by the arrival of Ehud Yoari, Arab affairs expert, and Alex Giladi, foreign news broadcast director, because the Egyptians viewed the two men, employees of a state corporation, as quasi-civil servants.
As such. Dayan added. They should not have taken such politically significant action without first consulting with his ministry. The two apparently received permits from the Interior Ministry (without which their mission is technically a criminal offense). But the ministry now says the permits were issued in error and no more will be forth coming until the official delegation leaves next week.
EGYPT LIMITING NUMBER OF ISRAELI REPORTERS
Other officials here said they believed the embarrassment was at least in part responsible for the very severe limitation that the Egyptians were now proposing to impose on Israeli press coverage of the conference. Egypt indicated today it would allow only 30 Israeli journalists to cover the conference. This figure includes television technicians and radio soundmen and has been received with great disappointment in press circles here. Officials here are still hopeful it may not be Cairo’s last word.
Yaari has already phoned back stories of his warm welcome from officials in Cairo and from ordinary people who hear he is from Israel. Giladi is, meanwhile, conferring with Egyptian television personnel on arrangements for covering the conference.
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.
