ISRAEL . . . RABIN DENIES TIME DAILY REPORT

Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin called a press conference today to deny a report in Tuesday's TIME Daily concerning a secret Labor Party opinion poll that showed public support for the party in such sharp decline that Labor would be trounced if an election were held now. Rabin said the story was "simply a lie." A government source, however, toldTIME Jerusalem Bureau Chief Lisa Beyertoday that it is possible that such a poll was conducted without Rabin's knowledge. Beyer told TIME Daily that several sources confirmed the story. The report prompted front-page stories and extensive TV and radio news coverage in Israel. An Israeli radio news report said today that Foreign Minister Shimon Peres, Rabin's chief Labor Party rival, declined to deny the existence of the poll, but Peres later said on television that he doubted the survey had been taken. Meanwhile, three separate published opinion polls show seriously declining support for Labor.