Book banned by Israeli Govt

Press, Issue 33842, 14 May 1975, Page 17

Book banned by Israeli Govt

(By TERENCE SMITH, of the New York Times, through N.Z.P.A.)

JERUSALEM, May 13.

The Israeli Government has acted vigorously to block publication of a book which is reported to contain secret minutes of conversations between the American Secretary of State (Dr Henry x Kissinger) and Israeli Cabinet Ministers, in which Dr Kissinger is said to have made disparaging remarks about the leaders of Egypt, Syria, the Soviet Union, and other countries.

The book was banned on the orders of the Israeli Prime Minister (Mr Rabin), who, according to Israeli sources, told the Cabinet that Dr Kissinger would probably have, to resign, and that Israeli-American relations would be seriously damaged, if the material were made public. On the ground that this might threaten the flow of American arms and aid to Israel, the Government Censor blocked publication of the book, and last week, according to sources familiar with the case, impounded the author's manuscript and notes and documents used in preparation of the work. The Government also prohibited Israeli newspapers from publishing the fact that the book has been censored. Such a step is authorised under Israel’s stringent security regulations, but it is rarely imposed, and Israeli journalists have protested against the action as a political use of Israel’s military censorship.

The stern measures taken against the book and its author, Matti Golan, an Israeli journalist, are a barometer of both Mr Rabin’s irritation over a recent spate of leakages from his Gov-

ernment and Israel’s deep concern over the strained state of relations with the United States. They also underscore the importance Mr Rabin places on maintaining a close relationship with Dr Kissinger. According to sources familiar with the manuscript, it contains the verbatim transcript of closed-door talks between Dr Kissinger and the former Prime Minister, Mrs Golda Meir, and other members of her Government during negotiations leading to the Israeli-Syrian pact signed on June 1, 1974. Transcripts of the talks were taken by an Israeli ste ; nographer, copies were apparently leaked to Mr Golan, a columnist for “Haaretz” who has been harshly critical of both Mr Rabin and Dr Kissinger. The documents are said to have been classified top secret. After its regular weekly meeting on Sunday, the Cabinet released a communique announcing that it had empowered. the Prime Minister to “take measures accordant with the law to prevent leaks of privileged political or security information likely to be prejudicial to the State, and to discover the source of such leaks.” '