Chancellor Willy Brandt of West Germany arrived in Israel this afternoon and flew directly to Jerusalem by helicopter after his official welcome at Lod Airport, for a private meeting with Premier Golda Meir in the Prime Minister’s office that lasted over 90 minutes. It was the first working session of Brandt’s four-day visit to Israel. Only a short while earlier he and Mrs. Meir exchanged warm words of greeting at the airport bedecked with German and Israeli flags.
Brandt and his entourage arrived aboard a German military transport and the Chancellor was the first to alight from the plane to be greeted by Mrs. Meir, Foreign Minister Abba Eban, and Transport Minister Shimon Peres. They stood at attention as an Israel Army band played the Israeli and German national anthems and then Mrs. Meir and her guest mounted a podium to make their formal statements.
“Mr. Chancellor, you are welcomed in Israel with the esteem due one who, in the darkest period for the human race and especially for the Jewish people, joined forces with those who fought the Nazis,” Mrs. Meir said. She noted that Brandt is the first Chancellor of West Germany to visit Israel while in office and recalled his visit here 13 years ago when he was Mayor of West Berlin.
“Your present visit as Chancellor of the Fed- eral Republic of Germany is an indication of the ties between our two countries and undoubtedly will be of major importance in furthering relations between our peoples,” Mrs. Meir declared. “I trust that during your visit you will see for yourself our efforts toward the ingathering of Jews from all its dispersions and to cement them into one people, that you will familiarize yourself with our problems, our way of life, our trials and aspirations, and–above all–our aspiration for peace with our neighbors.”
Mrs. Meir concluded her welcome with the traditional Israeli greeting, “Brukhim Ha’baim.”
ISRAEL-W. GERMAN RELATIONS WILL BE PROBED
Brandt, responding, said, “I am invited here as a representative of a new Germany, representing a new era in the national life of Germany. This means that you are placing the force of the past against the expectations of the present–expectations of a courageous humanity. I believe that humanity would have been lost had it not been for such courage.”
He observed that the past could not be erased or ignored. “We cannot act as if nothing has happened,” he said. “The pains and sorrows of the past are still on our conscience. Cooperation between our countries is characterized by the shadows of our experience, on the background of the past. Therefore the bridging between is so impressive–the bridge that was initiated by David Ben Gurion and Konrad Adenauer twelve years ago. For eight years there has existed normal diplomatic relations between our two countries. The special character of these relations will come to light during the talks I am looking forward to holding with you, Mrs. Prime Minister in the next days.”
OTHER ISSUES TO BE DISCUSSED
While Brandt and Mrs. Meir conferred here, their senior aides met newsmen in an adjoining room. Mordechai Gazit, director general of the Prime Minister’s Office, speaking in English, reviewed Israel’s policies in the Middle East. He stressed that Israel has no objections to friendly nations maintaining friendly relations with the Arabs. The Arabs, however, he said, have always objected to other states having ties with Israel.
Paul Frank, Secretary of State at the Bonn Foreign Ministry, reiterated Brandt’s words at the airport–that no German could come to Israel without bearing in mind their past history. He did not refer specifically to the “special relationship” which Israel hopes will continue with West Germany. Israeli sources noted that it was not for officials but for the Chancellor himself to state his country’s policy on that major question.
Mrs. Meir is holding a state dinner for Brandt at the Knesset tonight. Her entire Cabinet will attend except Defense Minister Moshe Dayan. He reportedly made a commitment months ago to address a mass rally of settlements near the Gaza Strip on the occasion of the sixth anniversary of the Six-Day War and could not break the engagement.
Sources here said the whole gamut of German-Israeli relations would be discussed between Premier Meir and Chancellor Brandt in the six hours of working sessions set aside for that purpose during Brandt’s four-day visit. The sources said these would include bilateral relations between Israel and West Germany, the Middle East, the European Common Market, and Germany’s position in the United Nations to which Bonn will be admitted next fall.
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.
