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.