CROATIAN-ISRAELI SOCIETY BUILDS BRIDGES BETWEEN TWO COUNTRIES

ZAGREB, Aug 18 (Hina) - The Croatian-Israeli Society is a constructor of bridges between the two countries and the two people from Croatia. Four leading members of the Israeli-Croatian Friendship League will visit Croatia from September 8 to 11. The aim of this visit is the development and improvement of economic, political, cultural, trade and other relations between Croatia and Israel, president of the Croatian-Israeli Society, Mihael Montiljo, said on Tuesday. The Society called a press conference on Tuesday to announce the visit, and to recognise the 50th anniversary of the State of Israel. The needed stimulation to the development of relations between the two countries was provided by the establishment of full diplomatic relations. These relations have been on the rise ever since, which is also proven by the visit of representatives of the Israeli- Croatian Friendship League, Montiljo said. These relations are not helped, however, by newspaper articles such as the one published in Zagreb's daily "Vjesnik" of August 14 and 15, in which a reader wrote that Shimon Romah, one of the leading people at the Shabak (Israeli Interior Security Service), had worked for this service which was described as equal to the former Yugoslavia's Udba, he said. Montilj also recalled a part of the text where Ljubica Stefan said Israel published untruths about Croatia, and that B'nai B'rith and Yad Yashem ignored libel about Croatians and Croatia, especially Cardinal Stepinac. Montiljo described the article by Ljubica Stefan as utterly malicious, and its publishing as damaging for the further successful development of Croatian and Israeli relations. (hina) lml 181541 MET aug 98