Israel-Egypt
Peace Conference
At 'Serious Stage'

Israel's Young Diplomats Show
Pride in Nation's Independence

By MURRAY FRANK

WASHINGTON—The Israel Embassy in Washington
has grown considerably during the past year. Its spheres
of activity have increased and expanded manifold. They
include political and diplomatic relations, economic activi-
ties, cultural relations, military contacts, information and
press activities, etc.

The staff has been augment-
ed by a number of new officials
and experts in various fields.
The embassy's three-story build-
ing became overcrowded and too
small for the ever-growing de-
gree of activity, so that it was
necessary to rent the neighbor-
ing building and there set up
some of the departments.
At present, there is hardly a
phase of . American official life
or activity with which Israel's
diplomats have not established
relationship, whether it is in the
field of diplomacy or education,
economic problems or finance,
agriculture or scientific research,
food supplies, commerce or mili-
tary matters.
I Young, Energetic People
Israel's diplomats are young,
energetic people. One readily
detects in them their pride of
independence and self-govern-
ment, of recognized authority,
but at the same time also a
certain friendliness and warmth.
First, of course, ranks the
Ambassador, Eliahu Elath. There
is hardly a large or medium-
sized Jewish community in the
U. S. he has not visite& He has
been the guest of most large
Jewish organizations. Every-
where he has been accorded the
highest honors and received
with utmost respect. Through-
out this time he was always on
the alert to defend the cause of

Elath, who was born in the
Ukraine, went to Palestine at
the age of 17. Some 15 years
ago he joined the Middle East
Division of the Political Depart-
ment of the Jewish Agency,
gradually rising through its
ranks until, in 1945, the Agency
sent him as an official observer
to the San Francisco Confer-
ence. He subsequently became
the director of the Agency's (4-
lice in Washington, was air-
pointed Israel's special?' repre-
sentative to the U. S. when the
Jewish state came into being,
and was finally elevated to the
post of Ambassador and pre-
sented his credentials to Presi-
dent Truman on April 11, 1949.
Embassy Counselor
His first deputy is Dr. Moshe
Keren, counselor of the Embas-
sy, who came to Washington
last September. Dr. Keren, 49,
was born in Berlin. He went to
Palestine in 1934.
During the war years he serv-
ed with the British Army. In
1945 he joined the staff of the
newspaper Ha.azetz as an assist-
ant editor. After the founding
of Israel, Dr. Keren joined the
Foreign Ministry's department
of information and later became
the head of the Government's
bureau of information. In the
Embassy, he assists the Ambas
sador in political and. diplomatic
problems and acts as charge-
d'af faires in the Ambassador's

absence.

Next in rank is the economic
counselor, Dr. Moshe Erwin Wit-
kon, also a native of Berlin. He
is 45. In 1936 he settled in Pal-
estine and worked for the de-
partment for trade and industry
of the Jewish Agency. During
the war years he served the
Palestine GOvernment as depu-
ty controller of light industries.
From 1945 until his present ap-
pointment he was a vice presi-
dent of the Palestine Corpora-
tion, Ltd., a banking institution.
He arrived in • Washington in
1949.
Served Israel Army
Colonel Efraim Ben-Arzi, the
military attache, has been with
the Israel Embassy for more
than a year. He is a native of
Slonim,. Poland, where he was
born 39 years ago and went to
Palestine in 1924. Prior to his
appointment to the post in
Washington, Col. Ben-Arzi was
deputy quartermaster-general of
the Israel Army.
The Embassy lists two First
Secretaries: Moshe Yuval and
Arthur Liverhant. Yuval, 36,

was born in Dvinsk and went to
Palestine at 18. Iri 1936 he
joined the staff of the Jewish
Agency, and during the war was
military secretary to Moshe
Shertok (now Foreign Minister
Sharett). In 1947 he was a
member of the Jewish Agency
delegation to the UN. Following
the establishment of Israel, he
served as vice consul in New
York and last spring was trans-
ferred to the embassy in Wash-
ington.
Liverhant has been with the
embassy since the founding of
the -State of Israel. He is 30
years old, born in Germany and
raised in Palestine. He repre-
sented Jewish organizations at
the Paris Peace Conferende in
1946, conferences of the Foreign
Ministers in Paris, London and
New York, and meetings of the
UN or its affiliated organizations
at Lake Success and Washing-
ton. His duties at the embassy
include juridical problems and
-protocol.
Two Military Attaches
The Military Attache's two as-
sistants are Major Emanuel Avi-
dor and Wing-Commander Ye-
huda Giladi. Avidor, 33, was
born in Germany, went to Pal-
estine in 1935 and served in the
Palestine police force before the
war. Early in 1948 he joined the
Israel Defense Army.
Giladi is a sabra, born in Tel
Aviv 33 years ago. He studied
at the University of London, and
after graduation in 1940 he re-
mained in England as an air-
craft designer. In 1946 he re-
turned to Palestine, served in
the Haganah and later in the
Israel Air Force. Prior to his
appointment as assistant air
attache in Washington, he was
deputy director of engineering
in the -Israel Air Force.
Among the officials of the
embassy who are accorded dip-
lomatic status is a young wom-
an, Mirrna Davidovitch, acting.
press adviser, who was born and
raised in London. During the
war she was with the British
Ministry of Information as cen-
sor for Hebrew, Yiddish and
other languages, and later press
censor at the American Broad-
casting Statibn in Europe. For
three years she sat in the Jew-
ish Board of Deputies.
'Military Governess'
After the war she joined the
Jewish Agency office in London,
later transferred to Jerusalem.
During the siege of Jerusalem
she was secretary to Dr. Ber-
nard Joseph, then the Military
Governor—and was dubbed the
"Military Governess." Prior to
her appointment to her present
post, she was secretary to the
British Comthonwealth Division
in the Israel Ministry for For-
eign. Affairs.
Meir Shalit, assistant press
attache, was born in Kovno,
Litthiania, 28 years ago and was
taken to Palestine as a child.
He served with the British Army
in the Middle East and then
with the Jewish Brigade in Eur-
ope. Early in 1948 he joined the
Israel defense forces and served
in the field and, subsequently,
as General Staff Liaison Officer
with the UN observers in Israel.
The Embassy's agricultural ad-
viser is Dr. Ludwig Samuel, 49,
born in Germany.

.Experience With Agency

In 1933, he emigrated to
Palestine and joined the staff
of the Agricultural Research
Station at Rehovot. From 1943
until the establishment of Is-
rael he was with the Jewish
Agency's economic department,
then became adviser to the food
control office in Tel Aviv. Late
in 1948 he came to Washington
as food procurement officer and
was later named agricultural
adviser. He represented Israel
at the recent conference of the
UN Food and Agriculture Or-

ganization.

This is the roster of the Israel
Embassy's major officials and
experts who are accorded nip-

Bright-eyed at their first
glimpse of America, DAVID
and SAMUEL, two-year-old
twin sons of MRS. FEI GA
HOROWI-CZ, are shown on a
New York pier after alighting
from a DP ship. Born in a DP
camp, the youngsters will be-
gin a new life in the United
States under the sponsorship
of United Service for New
Americans.

Jewish Colonial Trust
Checking Share Records

.

THE JEWISH NEWS— 9

Friday, February 10, 1950

German Minister

JERUSALEM, (JTA)—P ea c e Opposes Restitution
talks between Israel and Egypt
have reached the "serious stage."
MUNICH (JTA)—Dr. Werner
It is reported that two meetings H i 1 p e r t, finance minister of
were recently held between rep- Essen, told the local parliament
resentatives of the two states in that restitution and -indemnifi-
a "country _which is interested cation claims by persons who
in peace in the Middle East." suffered from the Nazi regime
Last week, Eli Sassoon, Israel "are forcing the taxpayers to
Minister to Turkey, denied that commit suicide." He reported
such talks had taken place at that the Federal West German
Ankara.
Government estimates that the
(The majority of the Lebanese claims may amount to 37,000,000
people—Christian and Moslem German marks.
alike—favor the initiation of
Issue w i t h the statement
direct peace talks between Le- made by Minister Hilpert was
banon and Israel as soon as the taken by Dr. Philip Auerbach,
Jewish state and Jordan have Bavarian Commissioner for per-
negotiated a pact, it was re- secutees. He said that Dr. Hil-
ported in London from Beirut. pert's statement is "incorrect"
The report added that cordial' arid pointed out that taxpayers'
relations already exist between money is not being used for any
Jews in northern Israel and restitution and indemnification
purposes and that this has been
Arabs in southern Lebanon).
regulated under the de-nazifica.-
tion law. The victims of Nazism,
Labor-Management Pact Dr.
Auerbach said, are entitled
to their claim s, particularly
Stops Refinery Strike
when consideration is taken of
HAIFA (JTA)—The planned the efforts which. are being
general strike in the oil refin- made to secure compensation for
eries was called off by the Haifa officers and soldiers of the Ger-
Labor Council following an man Army.
agreement with the management
on the order in which individ- Ship Changes Flag
BALTIMORE, (JTA)—Dieen-
ual workers should be dismissed
goff Shipping Company of Israel
or retained.
President Chaim Weizmann acquired a second American
arrived at Haifa to participate ship, the 9,500-ton Montgomery
in the opening of a three-day City, which will be transferred
celebration marking the 25th to the Israel flag and will be re-
anniversary of the Haifa Tech- named Henrietta Szold, in honor
of the late founder of Hadassah.
nion.

.

TEL AVIV (JTA)—Tfie Jewish
Colonial Trust has been recon-
structing its share registers
which were damaged during the
bombing of London, it was an-
nounced by the Anglo-Palestine
Bank.
The announcement . drew the
attention of shareholders to the
fact that many shares 'regis-
tered in the names of the origi-
nal holders have in the course
of the war years. passed into the
possession of their heirs and
relatives without the proper for-
mality of transfer.
The Bank, therefore, advises
the holders of the registered
shares to communicate with the
Jewish Colonial Trust in London
in all cases where the shares
they hold are registered in
names other than their own.

lomatic status in Washington.
The Embassy also employs a
number of lesser officials and
other personnel. Israel's diplo-
matic representation in Wash-
ington is today a well-function-
ing, smoothly-operating piece of
government machinery.

MRS. LEAH W. LEONARD'S

09ewa
Cootery'
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