The Governments of Israel and West Germany will act next month to set a specific date for the establishment of diplomatic relations on the Ambassadorial level in the near future, it was learned from informed sources here today. These sources said names of proposed ambassadors will be exchanged at the same time and the announcement of the appointments will take place after the September elections in the Bonn Republic.
It was reported also that Chancellor Konrad Adenauer will hold off on the formal announcement until after the elections to make certain that if the Arab states carry out their threat to retaliate with diplomatic recognition of the puppet East German Communist regime, the West German opposition parties will not be able to use it as a campaign issue.
While the right-wing Herut party was expected to object, a number of factors were listed by these observers as likely to diminish popular resistance to the establishment of diplomatic relations. These were described as West Germany’s “exemplary resistance” to the Arab boycott efforts, well publicized by the Israel Government; a considerable improvement in the general attitude of Israeli’s toward the Bonn Republic and the long preparations by the Israel Government for acceptance of the step.
JTA has documented Jewish history in real-time for over a century. Keep our journalism strong by joining us in supporting independent, award-winning reporting.
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.