Pope John Paul II Asked to Visit Israel
JERUSALEM (JTA) — President Yitzhak Navon has extended an informal invitation to Pope John Paul II to visit
Israel and its holy places. Addressing a reception for Christian community leaders on the occasion of Christmas, Navon
recalled that the Pope had expressed a desire to visit the holy places in his own Christmas address.
"I am certain that I express the feelings of both the people and the government of Israel when I say that it would give
us great pleasure to see His Holiness among us and to receive him with the respect and honor that is due him," Navon told
the Christian dignitaries.
However, a source close to the President said an official invitation would not be sent to the Pope unless there is a more
definite indication that he plans to visit the holy places.
-umenism and
assimilation:
When Trends to
Concessions Lead
to Defections
HE JEWISH NEWS
Commentary, Page 2
A Weekly Review
of Jewish Events
POPE JOHN PAUL II
Fate of Iran's
80,000 Jews
.
Poison from Cairo:
Is It An
Inerasable Hatred?
Editorials, Page 4
VOL. LXXIV, No. 18 17515 W. Nine Mile, Suite 865, Southfield, Mich. 48075 424-8833 $12.00 Per Year: This Issue 30c
Jan. 5, 1979
Fearful Refugees Scramble
for EI Al Flight from Teheran
On Yom Hashloshim
In Tribute to Golda
(Editor's note: The following tribute to Golda Meir
is presented in conjunction with the 30th day after her
death — Yom Hashloshim — which is Saturday.)
The following was written by David Ben-Gurion to
veteran Zionist Leader Israel Goldstein on July 25, 1957:
"The need to be away from Jerusalem today deprived
me of an hour of rare gratification: the granting of the Wise
Prize to the dearest woman among our people in this gener-
ation, to my friend and comrade, Golda Meir. The Jewish
people is rich in outstanding personalities, perhaps more so
than any other people, but it does not compare unfavorably
with other peoples in outstanding women.. .
"The moral and spiritual greatness of Golda was al-
ready revealed when she waia young pioneer in the Emek;
the strength of her leadership was shown afterwards in the
Labor movement; and with the establishment of the state,
she was called upon to represent Israel before a Great
Power. Next she excelled as labor minister and afterwards
the direction of Israeli foreign policy was placed in her
c) faithful and diligent hands.
"Her service brought honor and glory to the whole people
and additional charm to the Hebrew woman. You could not
find a worthier person for recognition by American Jewry
(Continued on Page 6)
TEL AVIV (JTA) — An El Al plane loaded with food landed at Teheran Airport Monday under special
security precautions and without the aid of striking control tower workers. The plane took off safely on the
return flight to Israel with 160 passengers aboard, including many who had Israeli passports but not
tickets.
El Al and Pan American Airways are the only international air carriers still maintaining scheduled
flights to Iran. Hundreds of foreigners anxious to leave were reported stranded at Teheran Airport.
It was reported from Paris, meanwhile, that the exiled Moslem leader, Ayatullah Khoumeini, has
called on his followers to allow Israelis to leave Iran "so that we shall see no more of them forever."
El Al cargo service to Iran has been suspended for the past week because there are no crews
to unload the aircraft. Iranian troops took control of the airport Tuesday and reportedly restored
control tower services.
Israel exports by sea have also been halted. One Israeli ship has been anchored off an Iranian port for
the past two weeks, unable to discharge its 200 containers. Another ship, about to sail from Eilat to Iran
with 200 containers, was ordered to remain in port.
Meanwhile, Solel Boneh, the Histadrut construction company, has made plans to evacuate its
engineers and workers from Iran if the situation deteriorates any further. But for the time being they
remain on the job. The Israeli firm is building two hotels and an industrial plant in Iran, projects
amounting to $120 million. The equipment it would
have to abandon if evacuation became necessary is
reportedly insured against all risks.
Jewish Agency chairman Leon Dulzin de-
clared Tuesday that the agency was taking
energetic action regarding the aliya of Jews
TEL AVIV — Israel's Asian Games Federation
from strife-torn Iran — but he could not publicly
committee has been advised by John B. Holt of Lon-
Anti-Israel Athletes
Face Olympic Ban
don, general secretary of the International Amatuer
Athletic Federation (IAAF), that on Jan. 19 a council
meeting will be held in London to examine the conse-
quences for the athletes and member federations who
participated in the unsanctioned Asian Games.
The IAAF did not issue a permit for the games
because Israel was -not allowed to participate. Par-
ticipating athletes automatically became ineligible
for the Moscow Olympic Games in 1980.
(Continued on Page 7)
Israel Softens Tone
But Not Peace Stance
Falashas Face Genocide
Golda plants a tree in the Adulam region of the
Jerusalem Corridor, 1966.
JERUSALEM (JTA) — Hundreds, perhaps thousands of black
Ethiopian Jews (Falashas) have been killed as a result of violence in
Ethiopia, according to a report in Davar based on Falasha sources in
Israel and the U.S.
The worst carnage among the 28,000 Falashas, the report stated
took place in the revolution against Emperor Haile Selassie two years
ago. Radical tribes from the southern Sudan regarded the Falashas as
pro-Royalists. At the same time, government forces killed civilians in
the Falasha villages.
The Davar sources said the Falasha had been subjected to rape and
torture; young Falasha girls had been sold into slavery. According to
the sources, the wholesale killings had stopped under the new leftist
regime, but the Falashas were being treated as "a hostile minority."
Some Falasha activists accuse the Israeli authorities of having
failed to spur their aliya when it was still possible to do so. The Jewish
Agency dismissed the charges and the Foreign Ministry said there was
no truth to the charge that Foreign Minister Moshe Dayan's 1977
acknowledgement of Israeli military aid to Ethiopia hurt the Falashas.
There has been a great deal of academic discussion over the years
as to the true origins of the Falashas and their "Jewishness." But both
of Israel's present Chief Rabbis, Shlomo Goren and Ovadia Yosef, have
ruled that they are proper Jews but should, nevertheless, undergo a
symbolic conversion ceremony.
See story, Page 5
Israel Not Hurt
by Oil Cut-Off
JERUSALEM (JTA) — The Israel
Energy Ministry said Israel was in no
danger of running out of oil despite the
drastic curtailment of production in
strife-torn Iran which supplies about 70
percent of Israel's annual needs. They
said Israel was maintaining its require-
ments through purchases of more expen-
sive Mexican oil and the production of the
off-shore oil fields in Sinai.
They also said Israel was planning to
import coal and explore shale oil re-
serves.
The U.S. is committed to provide Israel
with adequate oil supplies in case of an
emergency. The American guarantee
was given to compensate Israel for relin-
quishing the oil fields in western- Sinai
under its 1975 interim agreement with
Egypt.