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October 15, 2004/Tishri 30 5765, Vol. 57, No. 7
Gadhafi holds court with Libyan Jews
RACHEL POMERANCE
Jewish Telegraphic Agency
NEW YORK - In Libya, a land that at times has shown as little hospitality to Jews as its Sahara Desert does to travelers, a visiting Jewish delegation is getting the royal treatment.
A group of Libyan Jews who now live in Italy met Oct. 11 with Libyan leader Muammar Gadhafi in Tripoli.
The encounter follows months of negotiations over Libyan government compensation to the Jewish community, which was expelled from the North African country after the 1967 Six-Day War.
Shalom Naim, chairman of the American Libyan Jewry Association, said the Libyan government appeared willing to compensate Jews for expropriated communal property, citing a public declaration by Gadhafi last month.
But the Oct. 11 meeting was only intended to be "a handshake and a photo opportunity," Naim said.
The move comes as Gadhafi pulls a political about-face, resuming diplomatic ties with Western nations that had shunned Libya for sponsoring terrorist activities. By compensating terror victims and opening up its weapons programs for elimination, Libya has seen sanctions lifted and its diplomatic position improved.
"Things have changed. Mr. Gadhafi has proved to be a very pragmatic individual. He has realized that switching to the West and walking with the United States is the best thing," Naim said.
Naim said the Jewish delegation included six representatives of Italy's Libyan Jewish community.
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