The World - News from Sept. 23, 1986

Israel will downgrade its diplomatic representation in Austria to protest the election of Kurt Waldheim as president, a Foreign Ministry spokesman said. The Foreign Ministry appointed a lower-level diplomat, Gideon Yarden, to head the embassy because diplomatic protocol obliges an ambassador to present his credentials to the president, the spokesman said. Israel’s policy is to avoid contact with Waldheim while maintaining good relations with the Austrian government, the spokesman said. Ambassador Michael Elitzur was recalled after Waldheim’s June 8 election.