Shamir Condemns Visit as Outrage
Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Shamir on Thursday condemned Pope John Paul II’s audience with Austrian President Kurt Waldheim as an outrage.
“It’s an outrageous act,” Shamir told reporters on a tour of the Israeli-occupied Gaza Strip. “It could be interpreted as a justification for crimes of which Waldheim is accused.
“What is taking place in Rome causes us great anguish,” Shamir continued. “I hope that the people who are doing this . . . don’t mean to give justification to the disaster that happened more than 40 years ago,” he said in a reference to the extermination of 6 million Jews by Nazi Germany.
But the prime minister said there was nothing Israel could do to prevent Thursday’s meeting.
Start your day right
Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
