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Candlelighting: Friday. September 16, 7:05 p.m.
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VOL. LXI, NO. 34
WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 14,1994
9 TISHRI, 5755
TEL AVIV (JTA) — On the eve of the Jewish New Year, Morocco has
On Thursday, the two countries announced that they would soon open Siaision offices In Tel Aviv and Rabat, the Moroccan capital.
"For us it's a beautiful present on the holiday, but it is beyond a holiday present," Israeli Foreign Minister Shimon Peres told Army Radio.
"The majority of relations that we have focused on were bilateral with states
Sweds are in New York!
JWB Staff
Brothers Selim and Eli Swed and their entire families arrived from Syria to freedom last April.
The news was relayed to The Bulletin by Judy Feld Carr, chairman of the National Task Force for Syrian Jews, Canadian Jewish Congress. However,
there had been an embargo on release of the story until recently.
Feld Carr expressed delight that the Sweds had been allowed to leave Syria. "It's wonderful news," she told y^T^ last spring.
The Sweds arrived in New York City along with Selim's wife Sara and their
six children, according to. Feld Carr, who met with them recently.
The brothers, who endured years of medieval conditions, torture and beatings, are in terrible condition, especially Eli. "But at least they're out," says Carr, who has been in contact with
SWEDS — Page 9
neighboring us.
Morocco also announced that it would simultaneously open a representative office t6 the Palestinian governing authority in Gaza. The Palestine Liberation Organization has had what is termed an "embassy" in Rabat for many years.
Morocco and Israel have long had de facto relations, with King Hassan 11 serving as an intermediary in Israel's peace efforts over the years.
Speculation of Israeli-Moroccan ties has been rife since the signing of the Israeli-Palestinian accord in Washington last September. Returning from the Washington ceremony. Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin and Peres
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stopped off in Morocco, their first public visit to that country.
Fbr some time, Morocco has encouraged tourism and even trade with Israel, where 600,000 Israelis claim Moroccan descent.
In its announcement of the establishment of an interest section in Rabat, the Foreign Ministry said that the offices were being set up "according to the rules and norms detailed in the Vienna Treaty on diplomatic relations."
It was not immediately clear when the exchange of offices would take place.
According to Lester Pollack, chairman of the Con-
ferences of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations, "There are active normalization discus-sioins going on, and the establishment of liaison offices is a further substantiation of the progress they're
making."
Pollack met with the king last Wednesday to discuss plans for a regional economic conference the king will host in October.
Rabin and Peres last month received invitations to the conference, which will include government and business representatives from countries such as Jordan and possibly Saudi
MOROCCO — Fsage 6
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The upcoming first-ever Western Conference of Canadian Jewish Congress will be opened by three top Jewish leaders.
Opening night, Saturday, Oct. 22, will feature a renowned trio: Israel's controversial, headhne-prone deputy foreign minister, Yossi Beilin; World Jewish Congress executive director Elan Steinberg; and CJC national president Irving Abella.
Delegates are expected from Jewish communities throughout the four western provinces, the Yukon and the Northwest Territories.
Labor member of Knesset Beilin holds a PhD in political science from Tel Aviv University. A former journalist, he was a member of the editorial board of the daily Dflvflr.
Deputy foreign minister since August 1992, Beilinhas written a number of books and articles on Israeli politics, including Sons in the Shadow of Their Fathers and The Price of Unity.
Steinberg has represented WJC at meetings with heads of state around the world, including Pope John Paul il, German Chancellor Helmut Kohl and U.N. Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali.
As part of his responsibility for overall management of WJC's global activities, Steinberg was responsible for directing the investigation which revealed Kurt Waldheim's Nazi past.
Abella, professor of history at Glendon College, York University, has lectured and written on Canadian labor and Canadian Jewry. He was recently appointed to the Order of Canada.
The three will take part in a discussion entitled "The state of ethnic relations in the world — Jewish response."
Their discussion will follow Havclallah and a welcome to delegates by
Marilyn Hooper, conference chair.
The conference is being held at the Jewish Community Centre of Greater Vancouver under auspices of CJC Pacific Region. It is supported by federal and provincial grants, corporate sponsorship, Jewish Federation of Greater Vancouver and the JCC.
The historic conference, which will deal extensively with multicultural and inter-ethnic matters, will also have a substantial Jewish component.
Past presidents of Pacific Region, which is marking its 60th anniversary, will be
CJC CONFAB — Page 6
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