ISRAEL VISITOR'S WELCOME TWO YEARS AGO, WEST GERMANY'S DEFENSE MINISTER FRANZ JOSEF 
STRAUSS ORDERED A CONSIGNMENT OF ISRAELI-MADE SUBMACHINE GUNS FOR THE BUNDESWEHR, 
AND THE ISRAELI GOVERNMENT WAS SO GRATEFUL FOR THE ARMS ORDER 
THAT IT INVITED STRAUSS DOWN FOR A VISIT . THE INVITATION 
GATHERED DUST UNTIL STRAUSS, WHO IS NOW OUT OF THE GOVERNMENT, 
DECIDED RECENTLY THAT THE TRIP TO ISRAEL MIGHT NOT HURT HIS 
CHANCES OF MAKING A POLITICAL COMEBACK AT HOME . DELIGHTED TO 
HAVE YOU, SAID ISRAEL'S PRIME MINISTER DAVID BEN-GURION . MOST ISRAELI 
CITIZENS AGREED WITH BENGURION . NONETHELESS, ANTI-GERMAN FEELING STILL RUNS DEEP 
IN ISRAEL, AND A NOISY MINORITY LED BY THE RIGHT-WING HERUT 
PARTY AND THE COMMUNISTS DECIDED TO VENT IT ON STRAUSS . 
THEY URGED THE KNESSET, ISRAEL'S PARLIAMENT, TO CANCEL THE VISIT AND 
DECLARE THAT STRAUSS WAS UNWELCOME . WHEN THE KNESSET REFUSED, STREET 
DEMONSTRATIONS BROKE OUT IN HAIFA, JERUSALEM AND TEL AVIV . BUT 
BEN-GURION STOOD FIRM . WHEN STRAUSS LANDED AT TEL AVIV A 
DAY LATE, IN HOPES OF AVOIDING A SCENE HIS PLANE WAS 
SURROUNDED BY SCORES OF POLICE ; THREE BODYGUARDS WERE POSTED OUTSIDE 
HIS HOTEL ROOM . THE BAVARIAN TOOK THE COMMOTION IN STRIDE 
. AFTER ALL, HE ADMITTED, " THE PAST LIES LIKE A 
SHADOW BETWEEN OUR TWO COUNTRIES . " SOON AFTER HE ARRIVED, 
A LAWYER FOR THE ISRAELI COMMUNIST PARTY FILED A COMPLAINT DEMANDING 
THE GERMAN'S ARREST FOR WAR CRIMES ALLEGEDLY COMMITTED WHEN STRAUSS WAS 
A YOUNG LIEUTENANT AND BATTERY COMMANDER AT A GERMAN ANTIAIRCRAFT SCHOOL 
NEAR THE END OF WORLD WAR II . STRAUSS RETORTED THAT 
HE HAD NEVER BEEN IN CHARGE OF A CONCENTRATION CAMP . 
" I HAVE A CLEAR RECORD AND A CLEAN CONSCIENCE, " 
HE SAID . AFTER PAYING CALLS ON GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS, STRAUSS TOURED 
HOLY LAND HISTORICAL SITES, SPENT ONE NIGHT AT A KIBBUTZ (COOPERATIVE 
FARM) . EN ROUTE, HE PROMISED TO PRESS FOR THE ESTABLISHMENT 
OF DIPLOMATIC RELATIONS BETWEEN WEST GERMANY AND ISRAEL, AND TO TRY 
TO BAR WEST GERMAN SCIENTISTS FROM WORKING FOR ISRAEL'S ARCHENEMY, EGYPT 
. BEFORE ENDING HIS TEN-DAY STAY THIS WEEK, STRAUSS WAS ALSO 
TO GET A VIP TOUR OF ISRAELI DEFENSE INSTALLATIONS . IN 
THE LESS POPULATED AREAS, FEELING WAS NOT RUNNING SO HIGH . 
IN ANY CASE, DECLARED BEN-GURION, REBUKING THE DEMONSTRATORS, " THE JEWISH 
PEOPLE WILL NOT ACCEPT HITLER'S RACIST THEORY THAT A MAN IS 
TAINTED BECAUSE HE BELONGS TO A CERTAIN PEOPLE . / 