In an incident creating tension within the national unity government, Science and Development Minister Ezer Weizman will obey Prime Minister Yitzhak Shamir’s orders forbidding him to meet with the Soviet ambassador to the United States.
Weizman, who is in New York, announced his decision here Wednesday through an aide, Aryeh Shumer.
Weizman, a Laborite, had been invited to meet with Ambassador Yuri Dubinin in Washington this week, reportedly in order to receive a formal invitation to visit the Soviet Union — the first extended to an Israeli minister.
Deputy Foreign Minister Binyamin Netanyahu of Likud explained in the Knesset that ministers wishing to maintain contact with foreign governments should do so through the Foreign Ministry.
But thought to be behind Shamir’s orders was his determination not to allow those representing more moderate policy positions than his own to receive international prominence.
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.
