Sunday, September 28, 2008

A Jordanian Opinion Of Menachem Begin

Reflecting the sense of relative optimism in Jordan over the election of Livni, columnist Saleh al-Qalab wrote in the daily Al-Rai newspaper that the Arabs have no reason to be afraid of Livni.

"No matter how radical she may be, she will never be as extremist as [former Likud prime minister] Menachem Begin," Qalab said.

Source

Wednesday, September 24, 2008

Center Bulletin, Vol. 4, No. 50

Volume 4, Issue 50
September 24, 2008

Total Number of Visitors Since October 2004: 440,131


This is the new impressive wall in the Olive Tree entrance foyer of the Begin Center. The likeness of Menachem Begin was sculpted in a new method by the well-known architect Prof. Harry Brand, who was present at the unveiling with his wife Evelyn and their family. A number of VIPs were specially invited. In brief remarks, Brand gave the background of this work which he was happy to present to the Begin Center, who in turn decided to place it where it now is.



The Hebrew is a quote from a statement by Menachem Begin which says "Not by the right of might have we returned to the land of our forefathers but we have returned by the might of right…And therein, all its inhabitants, the citizen as well as the resident, will live in freedom and justice, in solidarity and peace."


30 Years Since Camp David

Symposium Launched at Begin Center

The Camp David symposium got off to an auspicious opening at the Begin Center on Monday night and continued through Tuesday at the Bar Ilan University.

Israel's 5th President, Yitzhak Navon, recalled in his fascinating remarks in Hebrew, Arabic and English, that even though he was not in Camp David he had a number of important and interesting discussions with President Sadat in Israel and in Egypt. He also recalled his conversations with Prime Minister Menachem Begin before and after Camp David and in the subsequent years and recounted several meetings with President Carter.

As an historian and man of history and literature, he cited a number of appropriate Arab songs and poems to illustrate the points he was making. President Navon urged Israel to continue the pursuit of peace, now and at all times.

Justice Elyakim Rubinstein, who had been at Camp David as one of the legal advisors and assistants to Foreign Minister Moshe Dayan, stressed the main issues confronting the Israel delegation and recalled a number of humorous episodes. He spoke glowingly of the role of Prime Minister Menachem Begin and President Anwar Sadat, both strong and resolute leaders who, despite all the difficulties, were determined to end the state of war between the two countries.

Prof. Shmuel Sandler, of the Bar Ilan University, apologized for the absence of its president Moshe Kaveh and read the speech he had intended to deliver, supplementing it with his own emotions and reactions to Sadat's visit to Israel, the Camp David talks and their conclusions. He paid warm tribute to Prime Minister Begin.

In opening the proceedings, Harry Hurwitz, the Founder of the Begin Center and President of the Foundation, welcomed the distinguished guests and recalled a telephone conversation he received from Prime Minister Menachem Begin in Washington, DC during Camp David. The call was intended also to be heard by those in Camp David who were listening into Begin's conversations in order to determine his intentions.

When it came to the question of Jerusalem, Prime Minister Begin refused to discuss the subject and when asked to reconsider, he told the moving story of Rabbi Amnon of Meintz which is printed in every Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur machzor to describe the author of the famous prayer Unetanah Tokef.

Later when Begin came out of Camp David and appeared before 2,000 Jews in Washington, DC he proclaimed: "I am happy to greet you in Washington, DC to bring you greetings from Jerusalem, DC. You all know what D.C. stands for—District of Columbia. Jerusalem DC stands for Jerusalem, David's City."

"To this moment I still hear the outburst of applause of the large audience when they heard Menachem Begin's declaration of faith in the Holy Eternal City, Jerusalem," Hurwitz concluded.

The Master of Ceremonies of the event was Moshe Fuksman-Sha'al, Deputy Chairman of the Begin Center, who conducted the program in a wonderful way, with appropriate quotations from Begin and about Begin.

Short musical interludes were provided by Yonatan Niv, cello, Yoel Tayeb, guitar.


Events Fill the Center

This past Tuesday evening the Commander of the Central Front of the IDF met with officers under his command in the Begin Center to bid farewell to one of the officers and the celebrate the forthcoming High Holy Day season.

Later in the week the Reuben Hecht Auditorium was filled by a large number of young women soldiers and their parents at the conclusion of a course in which they had all participated.

Wednesday, September 17, 2008

Begin Quoted

For, as Menachem Begin once put it so well, "Yet faith is perhaps stronger than reality, for faith itself creates reality."


Source

AFP Story on 30 Years Since Camp David Conference

Egypt surveys peace horizon 30 years after Camp David

CAIRO (AFP) — Thirty years after Egypt and Israel signed the Camp David accords, which led to Israel's first peace treaty with an Arab nation, the Egyptian street is divided between forgetfulness and optimism.
Egyptian President Anwar Sadat and Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin signed the accords on September 17, 1978, after secret negotiations supervised by US President Jimmy Carter, leading to the Egypt-Israel peace treaty of 1979.
"The what accords?" "No idea." "Sorry, I don't know the details," are some of the responses on Cairo's streets.
Others refuse even to give an answer when asked about Egypt's relations with Israel.
But while poorer Egyptians are generally unaware of the accords' existence, wealthier classes say a horizon empty of war with Israel is good both for humanity and for business.
The absence of war is paramount, says Hisham Abdel Aziz, a 47-year-old civil servant, because "they made too many people suffer."
The two countries fought five wars in 25 years: the Arab-Israeli war of 1948, the Suez Crisis in 1956, the Six Day War of 1967, the War of Attrition which ended in 1970 and lastly the 1973 Yom Kippur War.
More than 20,000 Egyptian soldiers died in the conflicts.
"I think the accords were a good thing because there are no more wars with Israel," says geographer Amr Osman, 44. "The most important thing is for the country to be at peace, for the economy to evolve and for tourism to develop."
Sadat made an unexpected visit to Jerusalem in 1977 to begin negotiations with Israel, becoming the first Arab leader to make an official visit to Israel and to recognise its existence.
"Sadat is the only Egyptian leader to have understood the American and Israeli mentalities. He was far-sighted. We got back all our land," says 26-year-old engineer Ibrahim al-Adli.
Israel had captured and occupied Egypt's Sinai peninsula during the 1967 war, with Israel returning the land to Egypt in 1982, evacuating its soldiers and settlers alike under the terms of the peace deal.
"Nowadays the Arabs have no sense of direction, no identity. They won't get anything back, with or without war," continues Ibrahim. "The Palestinians have missed their opportunity to get their rights back."
Tareq Khalil, 25, says the accords "haven't done anything. Zero."
"The accords didn't get us back Sinai. It was the wars beforehand," says Ahmed Eissa, 58. "The accords simply opened talks with Israel which were a dead letter."
Despite the peace agreement and the subsequent exchange of embassies, normalisation between the two populations is far away, although business possibilities abound, especially in tourism.
"Egypt welcomes Israeli and Jewish tourists. There's no problem because these are business relations. There's no relationship between peace and business," says a young man who declined to give his name.
Nevertheless, Israel frequently warns its citizens against holidaying in Sinai, because of what it says is the possibility of militant attacks or kidnappings.
Despite ongoing distrust on both sides, peace remains the ultimate end, whatever the means.
"We would not be where we are if the wars had continued. The most important thing is peace, with Israel or whomever else," says 25-year-old driver Hani Salem.

Tuesday, September 16, 2008

Center Bulletin, Vol. 4, No. 49

Volume 4, Issue 49
September 16, 2008

Total Number of Visitors Since October 2004: 437,533



30 Years Since Camp David

1978: Camp David Ends, Begin Reports to Knesset

After 12 days in Camp David, Maryland, near Washington, DC, Prime Minister Menachem Begin and Israel's team were at last fee to leave and complete their journey in the US and then return to Israel. At first, Mr. Begin thought that the whole process would take three to four days, but it was not to be. The discussion between the Prime Minister and President Anwar Sadat under the patronage of the American President continued, broke down, and were resumed until an agreement was reached.

After his return to Israel, the Prime Minister made a comprehensive statement to the Knesset in which he said:

"I bring to the Knesset, and through it to the nation, the message of the establishment of peace with the strongest and largest of the Arab states; and, in the course of time, inevitably, with all our neighbors."

And Mr. Begin thanked the members of his team:

"We worked in the spirit of a team regarding every meeting between ourselves and the American delegation or every conversation between one of our members and a member of the Egyptian delegation. We would meet - whether it was day or night - for joint consultation; and each member of the delegation, without difference of status or rank, expressed his opinion freely, and everyone tried to take into consideration the view of his fellow-delegation member. Of this team, I shall say, simply: Well done.

The critical importance of the agreement with Egypt lies in the fact that this time we undertook to sign a peace treaty. No more partial agreements. No more interim agreements - in which the state of war remains as it was. But a peace treaty, which, in line with the known international models, generally opens with the following sentence: "The state of war between the two countries has come to an end." This is the difference - one of major importance. It means complete normalization of relations, including the establishment of diplomatic relations, an end to econo mic boycott, free movement of people and goods.

Experts on security assert and confirm that we have attained sufficient and satisfactory security conditions for the State of Israel, by laying down demilitarized zones, areas of thinned out forces and early-warning facilities."

* * * * *

Major Interview in Yediot Ahronot

Four members of the Israel team at Camp David participated in a wide-ranging interview which the Yediot Ahronot (the largest Hebrew language daily newspaper) published in last Friday's edition. The participants were Judge Elyakim Rubinstein of Israel's Supreme Court, who was the assistant to Foreign Minister Dayan; Advocate Meir Rosenne, who was legal a dvisor to the Foreign Ministry; Gen. (ret.) Avraham "Abrasha" Tamir of the Ministry of Defense; and Mr. Dan Pattir, the Prime Minister's spokesman.

They all discussed the main issues at Camp David and cited some interesting and fascinating moments during the 12 days.

The main point stressed by Judge Rubenstein and endorsed by the others was that in the 60 years of Israel's existence, the first thirty years were characterized by war and bloodshed, especially with Egypt, and the second thirty year period, up to this time, was free of such major conflicts. "This represents a major change in Isr ael's status in the Middle East."

* * * * *

As reported last week, the Camp David meeting, discussions and break through will be the theme of the two-day symposium which the Menachem Begin Heritage Center is holding together with the Bar Ilan University on Monday 22 and Tuesday 23 September.

The opening session, which will be at the Begin Center on Monday night, commences at 7:00pm. The following day there will be three discussion periods at the Bar Ilan University.

As seats are limited in both places, early reservations are strongly advised. Please call 02-565-2020 or email offices@begincenter.org.il.



60 Years Since IZL Entry into Army

A very unusual event will take place in the Begin Center on Tuesday evening, September 23, when the veterans of the Irgun Zvai Leumi will hold a ceremony to mark 60 years after the disbandment of the Irgun Zvai Leumi and the entry of its members, as units and individuals, into the army of Israel.

There are not many of these veterans left but those who are will receive an appropriate certificate to mark the occasion.

The ceremony will commence with greetings by Herzl Makov, Chairman of the Menachem Begin Heritage Center and Dr. Ephraim Even, Chairman of the Irgun Veterans Organization.

Addresses will be given by veteran Irgun commander Yitzhak Avinoam and Prof. Yehuda Lapidot.

There will be appropriate songs during the evening. The event is organized by Yehoshua Lendner of the Irgun veterans in Jerusalem.


Mazal Tov

The wedding of Dorit, daughter of Orna and Herzl Makov, Chairman of the Begin Center, to Ariel, son of Michal and Yitzhak Gispan, took place on Sunday night at the Events Garden at Tel Gezer. It was a happy, warm occasion for family and guests.

We extend our hearty Mazal Tov to the young couple and to their families.

Sunday, September 14, 2008

News Item on UK Sale of Irgun Archival Material

Rare Mandate murder poster goes up for sale

By Candice Krieger


A collection of rare artefacts of Jewish interest, including documents from the right-wing Irgun militia which operated in Palestine during the British Mandate, will go to auction on September 25.

The papers, now belonging to an Israeli collector, will go under the hammer at Mullock's Auctioneers' next specialist sale in Ludlow, Shropshire. Among them is what is thought to be the only copy of a "Wanted for Murder" poster, demanding the death of the British High Commissioner, Sir Harold MacMichael. This is expected to make around £2,000.

Historical documents expert Richard Westwood-Brookes at Mullock's said: "This is perhaps the most important group of Irgun documents to be seen for many years.

"They show the bitterness of the Irgun against the British and the lengths they were prepared to go to in order to achieve their goal of the establishment of the state of Israel."

The sale is taking place following a recent auction where a typewritten Irgun propaganda leaflet sold for £1,600 - double the estimate.

The Israeli collector is also auctioning the only known photos of the visit of Polish-Jewish children's author Janusz Korczak's to a kibbutz in the 1920s, and what is believed to be the only known etching of Thomas Mann done by Max Lieberman - signed by both. Both items are expected to make around £5,000.

But a spokesman for the Begin Centre in Jerusalem cast doubt on the provenance of the MacMichael poster, since it relates to the ship, the Struma.

He said: "The sinking of the Struma was in February 1942. Irgun was not operative at that time, having adopted a ceasefire in 1939 for the duration of the war, and did not publish any broadsides at the time". He believed the poster was more likely to have been produced by Irgun's breakaway group, Lehi.

Sidewalk Reconstruction Near Center











Thursday, September 11, 2008

Begin vs. Biden by Harry Hurwitz

Begin versus Biden

Written by Harry Hurwitz

Tuesday, 09 September 2008

Twenty-five years after his retirement from political life and 16 years after his death, Menachem Begin is suddenly a factor in the US Presidential election. His name has appeared in reports and numerous web sites describing a June 1982 confrontation Begin had while visiting Washington, DC, with then-Senator Joseph Biden of Delaware and now vice-presidential candidate on the Democratic ticket.

The report circulating quotes a major article by Moshe Zak, a leading Israeli journalist and one-time editor of Ma’ariv, who wrote in the week of Begin’s death in 1992 that “during that committee hearing, at the height of the Lebanon War, Sen. John [sic, Joseph] Biden (Delaware) had attacked Israeli settlements in Judea and Samaria and threatened that if Israel did not immediately cease this activity, the US would have to cut economic aid to Israel. When the senator raised his voice and banged twice on the table with his fist, Begin commented to him: ‘This desk is designed for writing, not for fists. Don’t threaten us with slashing aid. Do you think that because the US lends us money it is entitled to impose on us what we must do? We are grateful for the assistance we have received, but we are not to be threatened. I am a proud Jew. Three thousand years of culture are behind me, and you will not frighten me with threats. Take note: we do not want a single soldier of yours to die for us.’”

When that report appeared last week, the Begin Center in Jerusalem received numerous inquiries from people asking for verification from official sources that such a conference had actually taken place. The Information Resources team at the Begin Center searched for relevant documents and found the official report of a press conference that Begin gave on his return from that particular visit to the US on June 23, 1982 in which he enumerated various important meetings he had with the president and other personalities and House of Representatives and Senate Foreign Relations Committees. Begin said that in the Foreign Relations Committee of the Senate a young senator rose and delivered a very impassioned speech – “I must say that it’s been a while since I’ve heard such a talented speaker – and he actually supported Operation ‘Peace for the Galilee.’ He even went further, and said that if someone from Canada were to infiltrate into the United States, and kill its citizens all of us (and thus he indicated a circle) would demand attacking them, and we wouldn’t pay attention as to whether men, women or children were killed. That’s what he said.

“I disassociated myself from these remarks. I said to him: No, sir; attention must be paid. According to our values, it is forbidden to hurt women and children, even in war.… And thus the argument went. But, as I said before, the same senator supported our operation in Lebanon – with all his heart, he said. What he doesn’t like are our settlements in Judea and Samaria. I regret that I could not agree with him. He hinted – more than hinted – that if we continue with this policy, it is possible that he will propose cutting our financial aid. And to this I gave him a clear answer: Sir, do not threaten us with cutting aid.

“First of all, you should know that this is not a one-way street. You help us and we are very grateful for your help; but this is a two-way street, we do a lot for you. And also in recent battles we did a lot for the United States and I gave some examples, but this is not the place to go into them. Therefore, do not threaten us with cuts in aid, but take note: That if at any time you demand of us to yield on a principle in which we believe, while threatening to cut aid, we will not abandon the principle in which we believe – and propose cutting aid.”

Moshe Zak wrote that “after the meeting, Sen. [Daniel] Moynihan approached Begin and praised him for his cutting reply. To which Begin answered with thanks, defining his stand against threats.”

Harry Hurwitz is founder and president of the Menachem Begin Heritage Foundation

Center Bulletin, Vol. 4, No. 48

Volume 4, Issue 48
September 11, 2008

Total Number of Visitors Since October 2004: 436,631


30 Years Ago This Week: Israel and Egypt at Camp David

This week it is exactly 30 years after the historic Camp David meetings where Prime Minister Menachem Begin and President Anwar Sadat sat face to face to hammer out an agreement for the framework of Peace in the Middle East. The process began in the beginning of August 1978 when Secretary of State Cyrus Vance visited Jerusalem and Cairo to hand the heads of the governments the official invitations to come to the US for such talks. The talks began on 5 September 1978 and concluded on 17 September 1978.

At Ben-Gurion airport, just before boarding his plane, the Prime Minister expressed his hope that the Camp David process will be crowned with success for the sake of Israel and peace. He said:

The delegation – the Foreign Minister, the Defense Minister, myself, our friends and advisors – are leaving for the United States for the Camp David Conference on a mission of peace.

There is no people on earth that wants peace more than we do. Even as much as we do – and among our people there is no one who wants peace more than the present Government. To that end we will make every possible human effort so that the Camp David conference ends in an agreement which will enable the conducting of negotiations for the signing of peace treaties.

We the Israelis are particularly interested in the success of the three-way meeting. We are an integral part of the free world, which is under relentless attack on the part of the foes of human liberty – and it must defend itself. It has greatly shrunk and all those who are a part of it are interested in standing together.

For the sake of Israel and of peace, we are interesting in having the conference –in which representatives of the United States, Egypt and Israel will take part – end in success.

Mr. Begin was welcomed at Andrews Air Force Base in Washington, DC by Vice President Mondale and Secretary of State Vance. Mr. Begin said:

Mr. Vice President, Mr. Secretary of State, Ladies and Gentlemen, dear friends. Four times I visited the President of the United States in the interest of peace since we were elected by our peoples to conduct their affairs, to care for the future, and for the preservation of liberty and democracy in our countries and elsewhere.

Twice I met the President of Egypt in a spirit of understanding and good will and common striving for peace, in Jerusalem and Ismailiya. However, there is no doubt that this fifth meeting with President Carter and third with President Sadat is the most important, the most momentous of them all.

My friends and colleagues, the Foreign Minister, the Defense Minister and I and our friends and advisors will make all endeavors possible to reach an agreement so that the peace process can continue and ultimately be crowned with peace treaties.




[Please note that on Monday 22 September the Opening Event of the conference commemorating 30 years since Camp David will take place at the Begin Center and the following day, 23 September, the conference will continue at Bar Ilan University.]


Sukkot 2008: Please Reserve Your Place

Visitors to Jerusalem during Chol HaMoed Sukkot (the intermediary days of Sukkot) are advised to make reservations as soon as possible if they intend to visit the Menachem Begin Heritage Center and its museum. The experience of previous years shows that the visiting hours are fully taken up during such a holiday se ason, but there is still time now to assure admittance.

Those wishing to make reservations should call (02) 565-2011 or from abroad 972 (2) 565-2011; or email anath@begincenter.org.il or offices@begincenter.org.il.


Visitors

Two interesting groups visited the Begin Center in the last few days. The first was a UJC group from Chicago who were very interested in the museum and other features of the building. They were briefly addressed by Harry Hurwitz, the Founder of the Begin Memorial Project and the President of its Foundation. He responded to a numbe r of questions from members of the group.

On Tuesday afternoon, a UC-Irvine group visited, including a Vice-Chancellor of the University, a professor and multi-denominational students. They were given a lecture on the Peace Treaty by Harry Hurwitz and Yisrael Medad, Head of the Information Resources at the Begin Center, answered their questions on a variety of topics.

* * * * *

Mr. Steven Gross of Toronto visited the Begin Center last Friday. He was greatly impressed by the entire building and especially the museum. His late parents, Kenny and Gladys Gross, had been staunch supporters of Menachem Begin from the days of the Irgun until his premiership. They were early supporters of the program to establish the Menachem Begin Heritage Center.

* * * * *

Mr. and Mrs. Aizer of Johannesburg, South Africa, visited the Begin Center and were shown the Millicent Lavine Garden at the end of the Bronka Plaza. The late Millicint Lavine was a well-known gardener and donated much of the income from her work to projects connected with the Tel Hai Fund and later the Menachem Begin Heritage Center.

* * * * *

Bonnie Lipton, a former national president of the Hadassah organization, visited the Begin Center this week. She was greatly impressed by the building and the outline of wh at it contains. She regarded the museum as an outstanding portrayal of the man, his work and the achievements of the Zionist movement.

Tuesday, September 9, 2008

Begin Example of Modesty Included in NY Sun Editorial

Banana Peel Republic?

Editorial of The New York Sun | September 9, 2008

The decision by the Israeli police to recommend indictments against Prime Minister Olmert comes as a startling, even shocking development to those of us who have thrilled to the idealism of the Jewish state. It's not that the news arrived out of the blue. Less than two months ago, Mr. Olmert decided to resign, declaring that he would not contest his party's primary election of a new party leader. Mr. Olmert's agreement to hold that vote, scheduled for September 17, was itself a sign of his eroding position.

His July 30 resignation preempted Sunday's news that the police had concluded that "an apparent basis of evidence has been consolidated against [the] prime minister" on charges that include bribery, breach of public trust, and money laundering. Police are taking a further look at accusations that in the years immediately preceding his accidental emergence as prime minister, Mr. Olmert double billed his travel expenses.

By American standards, the amounts concerned are relatively small. As one wag said in 1977 when Yitzhak Rabin was forced to resign his first prime ministership over a $5,000 account in an American bank, Mr. Olmert has "slipped on a banana peel." What is emerging is the sense that Israel is moving from a banana peel to, if not a banana republic, at least a banana peel republic. Gone are the austere revolutionary lifestyles of the first generation of political leadership from both left and right. Golda Meir and Menachem Begin both lived in small apartments. David Ben Gurion retired to a desert kibbutz.

Sunday, September 7, 2008

Exchange Between Liebler & Bauer Over Kook

Isi Liebler had published a critique of Yad VaShem's anti-Kook stance (here).

It prompted a reply column by Yad Vashem's Yehuda Bauer, to which Liebler, in turn, responded:


Guest Columnist: Why Kook is out
Yehuda Bauer
Aug. 21, 2008


On July 8, The Jerusalem Post published an article by Isi Leibler, a Jewish leader of importance and a friend. Leibler attacked Yad Vashem's refusal to incorporate into its Holocaust History Museum an exhibit relating to efforts by Hillel Kook to persuade the US government to rescue the Jews of Europe. Originally an emissary of the Irgun Zva'i Leumi in the US, Kook and his team later became independent actors.

Leibler also attacked the then leading personality of US Jewry, Rabbi Stephen S. Wise, not only for hampering Kook's efforts to bring the tragedy of European Jewry to the attention of the American people, but also for not making public the famous cable of August 8, 1942, of Dr. Gerhardt Riegner, the secretary of the Geneva office of the World Jewish Congress, who tried to alert the WJC in London and New York to the danger of a mass annihilation of 3.5 million-4 million Jews in the coming fall.

Leibler says that Wise finally asked president Franklin D. Roosevelt to intervene, and that Roosevelt said: "Tell your Jewish associates to keep quiet." But Roosevelt did not speak with Wise between August and December 1942, so this is an error. Leibler says that Wise's non-action was "the most shameful failure of Jewish leadership in the 20th century." Unfair, and inaccurate.

IN THE summer of 1942, the Germans were racing toward Stalingrad. They were at El Alamein, and the danger to Palestine was obvious; the US had just barely managed to repulse the Japanese navy at Midway. The Germans were sinking more Allied ships in the Atlantic than the shipyards delivered replacements. Public opinion in the US, as Gallup polls showed, was increasingly anti-Semitic. This was the scene when Riegner's cable was received. It ended with the words: "We transmit information with all necessary reservation as exactitude cannot be confirmed. Informant stated to have close connection with highest German authorities and his reports generally speaking reliable." Riegner's cable thus cast doubt on the accuracy of its own information.

Sumner Welles, the State Department undersecretary, asked Wise not to make the cable public because the information had to be verified, as the cable itself had implied. In any event, in the summer of 1942 there was no Allied army anywhere near the Jews, and the Allied air forces were incapable of reaching the Polish extermination sites. No one could have prevented the mass murder at that point. The situation changed in November 1943 - after that the Western Allies could have bombed the extermination sites, but refused to do so. In 1942 the Americans could not have rescued the Jews even if they had wanted to; in addition, they feared the accusation that they were fighting the war for the Jews.

Was Wise right in yielding to Welles, when the cable itself cast doubt on its own contents? As historians David S. Wyman and Raphael Medoff write (A Race Against Death, 2002, page 8): "Wise believed he had no realistic choice but to comply, for he could not risk alienating the one government department whose cooperation was most needed in the effort to help the European Jews." He did inform Henry Morgenthau, the secretary of the Treasury, and Supreme Court justice Felix Frankfurter, in the hope that they would reach the president. He informed his colleagues, and then he waited for confirmation, which arrived in November, from the American representative in Switzerland. He then arranged for a press conference to make the information public, and it was reported in The New York Times, on an inside page.

Wise's fault? Should all this contradictory and controversial story, without any background and context, be shrunk into a panel in the Yad Vashem Museum?

Hillel Kook was a young activist, and he did great work in trying to mobilize American opinion to influence the US administration to do something to save the Jews. He was hampered and attacked by the Jewish establishment of the day, with Wise at its head. Did he influence public opinion? Leibler mentions the big demonstration of supposedly 400 Orthodox rabbis in front of the White House on October 6, 1943, as proof of his effectiveness.

It was indeed impressive, although Orthodoxy was then a small minority among American Jews, and its influence was minimal. The rabbis did not see Roosevelt, of course, but they were received on Capitol Hill by the vice president and some senators. Their demonstration was reported in The New York Times, and that was it. The media did not mention it afterward, and the effect on American public opinion is very doubtful. American anti-Semitism was to reach a peak in 1944, with 48 percent of the population expressing anti-Jewish views.

Among members of Congress, the mood began to change later, in 1943, and part of that was no doubt due to the efforts of the Kook group; it was also partly the influence of Wise and his official Zionist group, which made contact with Morgenthau. Yet it was some intrepid non-Jewish Treasury staffers who persuaded Morgenthau to press the president, who then established the War Refugee Board.

Leibler claims, wrongly, that the WRB was initiated exclusively by Kook, and rescued 200,000 Hungarian Jews (Wyman and Medoff say that 120,000 were rescued in Budapest). This is demonstrably wrong: The rescue of the remnant of Hungarian Jews was the result of an interplay of many factors, only one of which was the WRB, which financed, for instance, Raoul Wallenberg in Budapest, but with money from the Joint Distribution Committee - opponents of Kook, and the heart of the non-Zionist Jewish establishment.

Leibler is right. Kook should be given an honorable mention, along with other Jews outside of Europe. But for that we need a different museum, as this one is devoted, by design, to what happened to the Jews of Europe, in Europe. The visitor will not find anything about efforts by world Jewry, or the lack of them, except for a comment by Jan Karski about his mission to the West. There is nothing there about the Yishuv, except for the parachutists; there is nothing there about the organization of Soviet Jews to support the Soviet war effort, almost nothing about Jews serving in Allied armies. Nor about Kook. Or Wise. Or David Ben-Gurion. Or Menachem Begin.

Yad Vashem's Museum presents the story of the Holocaust - in detail. That is what people come to learn. Much even about what happened to the Jews in Europe had to be left out. If it introduced the story of world Jewish action and inaction during the Holocaust, and expanded on the attitude of the Allies and the neutrals, what does Leibler suggest should be kept out? Treblinka? Resistance? Judenrats?

Isi Leibler's heart is in the right place. It is his analysis that is wrong.

The writer is the director of the International Center for Holocaust Studies at Yad Vashem.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Reply to Yehuda Bauer
Aug. 29, 2008
Jerusalem Post

I feel privileged to know Yehuda Bauer personally. He is the greatest living scholar on the Holocaust and his works were the formative influence enabling me to gain an understanding of the horror of the Black Years and the factors which created them.

I stand corrected that it was State Secretary Sumner Welles rather than President Roosevelt who pressured Rabbi Stephen Wise not to disclose the content of the Riegner telegram alerting the world to the Nazi genocidal campaign. Yet the acquiescence by Wise to suppress the information under these circumstances places him in an even worse light than had he done so under pressure from the President.

Besides, there is no disputing that Wise regarded himself as a close friend of Roosevelt who did tell him later that, “The only way to stop the slaughter is to win the war. Tell your Jewish associates to keep quite”.

Yes, there was much anti-Semitism and yes, American Jewish leaders were pressured and frightened. But having a personal appreciation of such leadership situations, I stand by my belief that the passivity and silence of the American Jewish establishment during those terrible years displayed a combined breakdown of courage and judgment and represented the most shameful failure of Jewish leadership in the 20th century. Worse, Wise and his associates tried to muzzle and demonize Hillel Kook (Peter Bergson) and went to the lengths of attempting to have him deported for his efforts to make Americans aware of the horrors European Jews were undergoing.

Whereas I concede Bauer’s assertion that the change of climate by the US government in 1944 was not exclusively due to any single individual, it is undeniable that the belated last minute interventions to save Jews were heavily influenced the extraordinarily effective public campaigns Kook had initiated..

I respectfully disagree with Bauer who feels that there is no space in Yad Vashem for reference to Kook. Surely if the US Holocaust Museum could find space, Yad Vashem can do likewise. I feel that those visiting Yad Vashem should be made aware that in times of crisis there is an obligation on Jews in free countries to follow the example of Hillel Kook rather than the failed Jewish establishment who feared to rock the boat and placed their faith in princes.

But even if the request is problematic, it is outrageous for Yad Vashem spokesmen to dismiss a petition from over 100 distinguished Jewish scholars and public figures ranging over the entire political spectrum saying that “we might review the situation in ten years time”.Yad Vashem is not a personal fiefdom and in lieu of such arrogance they should at least be willing to constructively discuss and review situations especially when raised by responsible and concerned citizens.

Isi Leibler

The King David Hotel Operation Commemoration Sign

Leonard Bernstein and the Irgun

When Leonard Bernstein ‘Dug’ the Irgun


By Rafael Medoff
Thu. Sep 04, 2008


MILITANT MAESTRO?


In 1948, young impresario Leonard Bernstein headlined a concert to raise funds for the Revisionist Zionist militia Irgun Zvai Leumi, despite protests from the group’s foes in the American Jewish community.

‘I dig absolutely.”

Those three awkward words, spoken by Leonard Bernstein to a Black Panther spouting pseudo-Marxist rhetoric at a soiree in the Bernstein home in 1970, immortalized the stereotype of the guilt-ridden upper-class liberal embracing violent radicals. The composer found himself publicly mocked, first by William F. Buckley Jr. in a newspaper column titled “Have a Panther to Lunch,” and then in the pages of The New York by Tom Wolfe — who was inspired by the incident to coin the term “radical chic.”

What few remember is that 25 years before Bernstein flirted with the Panthers, the cause he “dug” was the fight to rescue Jews from the Holocaust and establish a Jewish state. Later this month, Carnegie Hall and the New York Philharmonic will kick off a month-long city-wide festival commemorating the 90th anniversary of Bernstein’s birth and the 50th anniversary of his appointment as music director of the New York Philharmonic. But this past summer also marked the 60th anniversary of a clash in New York City between American supporters of two rival Zionist militias — with Bernstein smack in the middle of it all.

Bernstein made his conducting debut with the New York Philharmonic on November 14, 1943, in a nationally-broadcast concert that turned him into an overnight sensation. That same week Senator Guy Gillette of Iowa and Rep. Will Rogers Jr. of California introduced a congressional resolution urging President Franklin Roosevelt to establish a government agency to rescue Jews from the Nazis.

The resolution was the brainchild of the Bergson Group, a political action committee that publicized the rescue issue through theatrical productions, a march in Washington by 400 rabbis, lobbying on Capitol Hill and more than 200 newspaper ads, often signed by political and cultural celebrities.

One such ad, which appeared in various newspapers in early 1944, bemoaned the fact that Europe’s Jews were “persecuted by enemies and ignored by friends” and called for “the immediate opening of Palestine.” The 200-plus signatories were typical of the Bergson Group’s rainbow coalition: members of Congress from both sides of the aisle, prominent African Americans such as Adam Clayton Powell Jr. and Episcopal bishop Edward Demby, actors Charles Bickford and Jane Wyatt (later famous for “Father Knows Best”) and several prominent composers — W.C. Handy, Lazare Saminsky and, in his political debut, Leonard Bernstein.

Bernstein had been anxiously following the news about the slaughter of European Jewry. His symphony “Jeremiah,” which premiered in January 1944, included a movement called “Lamentation” that was meant to allude to the Nazi massacres. “How can I be blind to the problems of my own people?” Bernstein remarked to reporters at the time. “I’d give everything I have to be able to strike a death blow at fascism.”

As the struggle to establish a Jewish state intensified in the postwar years, Bernstein became more actively involved. In 1947, he conducted concerts for the Palestine Philharmonic Orchestra, despite the warfare raging between the British Mandate authorities and three Jewish underground militias: the Haganah, the Irgun Zvai Leumi and the Stern Group. Bernstein sympathized with both the Irgun and the Haganah; he had publicly endorsed the pro-Irgun Bergson group and also served on the national council of Americans for Haganah.

In the spring of 1948, Bernstein agreed to a request from the Bergson Group to headline a concert at the Waldorf Astoria hotel to benefit the Irgun. Joining him on the bill were mezzo Jennie Tourel and baritone Robert Merrill of the Metropolitan Opera, dancer Valerie Bettis and actor Henry Fonda.

Leaders of Americans for Haganah were furious to learn of Bernstein’s sympathy for the rival Irgun. One proposed removing Bernstein’s name from the list of council members on the masthead of their newspaper, Haganah Speaks, although the suggestion was complicated by the fact that fully one third of the council members, including New York City Mayor William O’Dwyer, were Bergson supporters. The problem was resolved by removing the entire list of council members from the newspaper.

Less than two weeks before the Waldorf Astoria concert, Haganah-Irgun tensions in Israel exploded over the arrival of the Altalena, an Irgun ship bringing weapons to help fight off the invading Arab armies. Regarding the ship as a challenge to his authority, Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion ordered the sinking of the Altalena. Sixteen Irgun men were killed in the attack.

Americans for Haganah director David Wahl fired off a telegram to Bernstein, asserting that the people whom his concert would benefit had undertaken “treasonous activity against the Israeli government.” He urged Bernstein to withdraw from the event, and sent similar appeals to the other performers on the bill. Fonda, Bettis, Tourel and Merrill buckled. But Bernstein refused to yield.

Unruffled by the picketers whom Wahl brought to the Waldorf Astoria, Bernstein proceeded with the concert, accompanied by violinist Frances Magnes. The music was followed by pro-Irgun speeches by actors Luther Adler and Ruth Chatterton, Bergson Group official Alex Wilf and an Irgun fighter who identified himself only as “Jacoby.”

While Wahl may have felt he won a partial victory by scaring off most of the concert’s scheduled performers, he and his colleagues were losing the bigger war for the hearts and minds of American Jewry. Heavy-handed attacks on the Bergson Group, which mainstream Jewish leaders had tried in 1943 and 1944, tended to alienate grassroots Jews, and in the wake of the Holocaust, even many within the Jewish establishment lost their taste for internecine warfare.

Moreover, by late 1945, Rabbi Stephen Wise, probably the most passionate foe of Bergson in the Jewish leadership, had been replaced as head of the American Zionist movement by Abba Hillel Silver, who was sympathetic to the Irgun and generally cordial to the Bergson Group. Thus Bergson-bashing was largely out of vogue by the time Wahl began dabbling in it.

Wahl’s crusade against Leonard Bernstein thus availed him little when the American Zionist Emergency Council and the Jewish Agency decided in 1948 that Americans for Haganah was posing unfair competition to mainstream Zionist fundraising and should be shut down. Ironically, Wahl, who had railed against Bergson and the Irgun for defying authority, defied the Zionist leadership for more than a year and continued publishing “Haganah Speaks” even after the Haganah ceased to exist.

Bernstein, for his part, apparently never regretted his backing for Bergson or the Irgun. One Bergson Group leader, Alex Rafaeli, told me that as late as the 1960s, Bernstein continued to give him and other Bergson activists free passes to his concerts when they visited New York. “Bernstein acted from the heart, not from the head,” Rafaeli said. “When he cared about an issue, whether it was the Holocaust or Israel or some other issue that moved him, he felt it deeply and he wanted to do something about it. You can’t say that about most people.”

Saturday, September 6, 2008

Yehuda Avner on Begin's US Strategic Relationship

Bygone Days: The strategic agreement that never was

Sep. 6, 2008
Yehuda Avner , THE JERUSALEM POST

US president Ronald Reagan had a craving for jelly beans. He started chewing them in the early 1960s when he gave up smoking. On entering the White House in 1981, he had crystal jars of jelly beans placed on his desk in the Oval Office, on the table in the cabinet room, in the suites of his guest house and on Air Force One, where a receptacle was fashioned to prevent spillage during turbulence. Guests at Ronald Reagan's inaugural balls consumed 40 million jelly beans, almost equaling the number of votes he received in the election, or so the tabloids blazed.

"I can hardly start a meeting or make a decision without first passing around a jar of jelly beans," Reagan quipped to prime minister Menachem Begin when they met for the first time in early September 1981. "You can tell a lot about a fella's character by whether he picks out all of one color, or just grabs a fistful. Here, take a few."

Begin grinned and obliged, scooping up a small handful. Having once been an ardent movie-goer, he could not resist a passing reference to the president's past acting career, to which Reagan laughed in a deep, jovial way, and joked, "You know, someone asked me how can an actor become a president, and I answered, how can a president not be an actor?" The jest had them both in a fit of laughter.

Without a doubt, the president's genial tone and infectious bonhomie were giving Begin a sense of uncommon ease, and when the Californian beseeched, "Please, call me Ron. And may I call you Menachem?" (He pronounced it Menakem.) Begin responded with the widest of smiles and with the falsest of modesty: "Oh, no, Mr. President; I'm a mere prime minister and you are the president of the mightiest power on earth. So by all means call me by my first name, but I cannot call you by yours."

"You sure can, Menakem. I insist," said the president.

"In that case, Ron, I shall," said the prime minister, elated.

THEY WERE sitting across from one another on cheery, floral-patterned settees in the Oval Office, with a view of the sunny rose garden through the tall windows, the presidential colors draped next to a prominent portrait of Thomas Jefferson and, elsewhere, mementos, plaques, signed photographs - all the bric-a-brac of a public man who had once been a middling film star and then a popular state governor. Begin could not be totally certain how much of his affability was Hollywood and how much was sincere, but having learned that the man had a genuine admiration for Israel, he allowed himself the euphoria of being cuddled in this big man's bighearted welcome.

It seemed to Begin that Reagan was deliberately seeking to break the ice in a demonstrative display of camaraderie, giving him a rare opportunity to open up his heart and to say what was on his mind in a free-wheeling tête-à-tête. Imagine, then, his astonishment, nay bewilderment, when hardly had he opened his mouth to talk about the burning issues of the day when Reagan interrupted him to say: "You must forgive me, Menakem, but we have only a quarter of an hour before we have to join the others in the cabinet room. So I would just like to make" - he slipped his hand into his pocket and extracted a pack of 3x5 cards - "a few points. The first is..."

Begin stared in disbelief as the American president began reciting in mechanical tones a series of typed "talking points" consisting largely of a standard reaffirmation of America's known positions on Israel and the Middle East. And when he paused, which he did twice, the premier assumed it was to allow him to engage. But it wasn't. It was simply Reagan making sure of his lines.

Was the president of the United States so uninformed that he needed to read by rote elementary issues from cue cards, like a third-rate actor? So Begin sat and listened. Never before had he deliberated with a world leader - the world leader - who was such an abysmal interlocutor.

Reagan was destined to enter history as a brilliant public communicator, the man who reinvigorated the American people after the lackluster years of Jimmy Carter, who restored his country's prosperity and who initiated what pundits described as a pie-in-the-sky "Star Wars" enterprise but which, ultimately, brought the communist empire to its knees. Little of this, however, was evident at that first encounter, which ended with the president repocketing his talking points and saying, "And that, Menakem, is how America sees things," to which Begin responded with a gracious, "I thank you, Ron, for that comprehensive review."

"Now let's join the people in the cabinet room," said the president, and he led the way into the adjacent chamber, with its Colonial-style cream-paneled walls, immense brass chandelier, golden drapes and a grand oak conference table with high-backed leather chairs behind which senior advisers stood in respectful attendance.

Seating himself at the table's center, facing the prime minister, Reagan extracted another pack of cards, and in the practiced style of a late-night talk show host, suavely welcomed Begin and his entourage (which included defense minister Ariel Sharon), describing Israel as "a strategic asset," and inviting the premier to make any comments he wished.

Begin obliged, delving into a tour d'horizon, and ending with the cautiously chosen words: "You, Mr. President [he did not think it proper to call him by his first name in this setting], kindly referred to my country just now as a strategic asset to yours. While that, certainly, has a positive ring to it I find it, nevertheless, a little patronizing. Given the bipolar world in which we live - democracy versus communism - the cherished values we share and our confluence of interests on so many fundamental issues, might I suggest the time has come to publicly acknowledge that Israel is not just a strategic asset, but a strategic ally."

SOME AROUND the table looked at the premier in a faintly disconcerted manner. Caspar Weinberger, the secretary of defense, a rather diminutive man with sleek black hair and of vague Jewish origin, was actually frowning. But the president continued to give the premier his fullest attention, and he chuckled when Begin jocularly remarked: "You know, Mr. President, I sometimes get the impression that our relationship is a little like Heinrich Heine's famous couplet about the Berlin bourgeoisie gentleman who implores his mistress not to acknowledge him in public in that city's most fashionable boulevard, begging her: 'Greet me not Unter den Linden,' I fear there are some who would say much the same to us."

On all sides American faces seemed either bemused or irritated, but not the president's. He looked at the prime minister with respect, and chortled, "I'd be proud to acknowledge you in public anywhere, any time."

"Certainly, in this alliance," continued Begin, "Israel is very much the junior partner, but a partner we are. And I dare say" - a faint smile curled his lips and his voice sank into understatement - "over the decades Israel has done a thing or two which might have contributed to the American strategic interest in our region. And much as we deeply appreciate the military and economic aid we receive, I venture to suggest it is not an entirely one-way street - not a charity, so to speak."

There, he had said it; he had spelled it out. No other Israeli premier had quite put it that way before - that Israel was not merely a receiver but also a giver. And as he spoke he noted that Reagan was nodding in agreement. The president looked to his right and to his left, invited discussion, but since most everyone seemed taciturn Begin seized the moment and said: "Might I suggest, Mr. President, that consideration be given to an agreed document on this matter - on the strategic relationship between our two countries."

Weinberger's cold gray eyes glared back at him, and he grunted some sort of reservation, but secretary of state Alexander Haig seemed eminently amenable.

"What the prime minister proposes sounds like a good idea to me," said the president. "Let's look into it."

Menachem Begin sat up abruptly; energy coursed through him. He had been waiting for this moment for a long time, the moment when the United States of America would grant the State of Israel the status of a full-fledged strategic ally. So, with alacrity he said, "With your permission, Mr. President, may I call on defense minister Sharon to share with you and your colleagues a number of ideas which might give expression to this concept?"

"By all means," said Reagan. "Go ahead."

Sharon, known as "the Bulldozer" because of his girth, his autocratic style, his military daring and his craggy features, stood up, and with a set of maps proceeded to give an elaborate presentation of the ways Israel and America might cooperate strategically. Weinberger reddened at Sharon's swashbuckling audaciousness. Others on the American side exchanged uneasy glances. But Sharon plowed on imperviously, proposing what was tantamount to a wide-ranging mutual defense treaty. Begin, sensing the growing uneasiness, suggested the president authorize the two defense ministers to confer with the intent of finding a mutually acceptable formula.

"Good idea," said Haig.

"Why don't you two fellas get together and see if you can work something out in this area?" said Reagan.

Weinberger seemed dumbfounded. One could see he was seething - stuck with a presidential request to deliberate with a man he could not abide about an agreement to which he was totally opposed.

On the morrow, Weinberger summoned his chief aides to his Pentagon conference room and told them, "I want no publicity about this. The Israelis are going to do just the opposite. They'll want lots of publicity, and they'll want a binding document with lots of detail. We're not going to subscribe to that at all. Whatever we'll sign will be so general and so empty of content that we'll be able to defend it in the Arab world. And I want the negotiations to be held right here in Washington. I intend to control them myself." And control them he did.

THE TALKS began with the Israeli Defense Ministry presenting the Pentagon negotiators with a 29-page booklet containing a sweeping list of military cooperation proposals. This spawned a plethora of acrimonious negotiations which, in the words of one American participant, "was like being in a washing machine where sometimes things went very smoothly and the water was warm. Then suddenly cold water would come out of nowhere and you'd be turned the other way and get hit across the head with some unexpected action. It was a funny time: On one hand, things were done at the president's behest, but then undone by his secretary of defense."

At one point Sharon so lost his temper that he began shouting and banging on the table, at which Weinberger coolly remarked to an aide, "Do you suppose minister Sharon has taken a dislike to that table?" Soon enough, Sharon became so disenchanted he decided to wash his hands of the whole thing, but Begin insisted he persist. He wanted a symbol of the alliance, if not a formal treaty. What he got was a brief 700-word memorandum of understanding that contained little that was new or substantive.

It was signed in November 1981 without fanfare by Sharon and Weinberger at an informal dinner at the National Geographic Society in Washington. No press was invited, and the Pentagon did not even issue its customary briefing. In what was an extraordinarily calculated intent to play down the whole exercise, nowhere is there a photograph of the two defense ministers signing the agreement.

And that is how Caspar Weinberger got his way and Menachem Begin his document.

The writer was on the personal staff of five prime ministers, including Menachem Begin.

Wednesday, September 3, 2008

Marty Peretz is in Error

Marty Peretz, now a blogger at and the former editor of The New Republic, has commented inhis blog on the Begin vs. Biden confrontation.

He has written:

Biden's Good Enough for Me

John Podhoretz...is dispensing all kinds of insidious bits of gossip, not at this point about Barack Obama but about Joe Biden...There's a quote from an angry Menahem Begin but only a vague allusion to what Biden is said to have said to the Israeli prime minister. The entire story comes from another story by the former editor of Ma'ariv, an Israeli newspaper, in another Israeli newspaper, The Jerusalem Post. in 1992. Where, for God's sakes, is a citation from the official records of the committee hearings?

The committee meetings, however, were supposed to have taken place not in 1992 but ten years earlier, in 1982, exactly 26 years ago. Is it likely that a nasty exchange between the prime minister of Israel and a distinguished Democratic senator would not have been noticed? By anyone, by me, for example? Biden is alleged to have threatened to cut economic aid to Israel if the building of West Bank settlements was not curtailed...


This reply has been sent to Mr. Peretz:

Mr. Peretz has suggested, or implied, that the exchange between Senator Biden and Prime Minister Menachem Begin, as retold in John Podhoretz's Commentary blog, based on Moshe Zak's retelling, never took place. Peretz writes: "Is it likely that a nasty exchange between the prime minister of Israel and a distinguished Democratic senator would not have been noticed? By anyone, by me, for example? "

Can I refer Mr. Peretz to the official documents record of Israel's Foreign Ministry (here) where Begin recounted in a public press conference the following:

After that a young senator rose and delivered a very impassioned speech - I must say that it's been a while since I've heard such a talented speaker - and he actually supported Operation "Peace for the Galilee". He even went further, and said that if someone from Canada were to infiltrate into the United States, and kill its citizens all of us (and thus he indicated a circle) would demand attacking them, and we wouldn't pay attention as to whether men, women or children were killed. That's what he said. I disassociated myself from these remarks. I said to him: No, sir; attention must be paid. According to our values, it is forbidden to hurt women and children, even in war. Sometimes, just as all the wars of the world have shown, sometimes there are casualties among the civilian population as well. But it is forbidden to aspire to this. This is a yardstick of human civilization, not to hurt civilians. We did not want to hurt civilians under any circumstances. Behold, the Minister of Defense is standing here, our Chief of Staff, army officers -they will all testify before you that the first question that we Cabinet ministers asked in regard to any plan is: Where are the civilians? And we never approved a plan knowing that civilians would be hurt directly or on purpose. Unintentionally, that can happen. It must not be denied.

And thus the argument went. But, as I said before, the same senator supported our operation in Lebanon - with all his heart, he said. What he doesn't like are our settlements in Judea and Samaria. I regret that I could not agree with him. He hinted - more than hinted - that if we continue with this policy, it is possible that he will propose cutting our financial aid. And to this I gave him a clear answer: Sir, do not threaten us with cutting aid. First of all, you should know that this is not a one-way street. You help us, and we are very grateful for your help; but this is a two-way street: We do a lot for you. And also in recent battles we did a lot for the United States; and I gave some examples, but this is not the place to go into them. Therefore, do not threaten us with cuts in aid, but take note: That if at any time you demand of us to yield on a principle in which we believe, while threatening to cut aid, we will not abandon the principle in which we believe - and propose cutting aid. The argument went approximately thus. True an argument I would call... "a-lively discussion" (said in English - ed.); I have no immediate translation now for this English expression that is used in Washington. But I am sure that this argument as well was very helpful.


In addition to that report by Mr. Begin, both the New York Times and TIME Magazine mentioned Sen. Biden specifically by name:

New York Times, June 23, 1982:

At the Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing, however, both Mr. Begin and several senators were said by participants at the meeting to have been bristling with anger….The bitterest exchange was said to have been between Mr. Begin and Senator Joseph R. Biden Jr., Democrat of Delaware, who told the Israeli leader that he was not critical of the Lebanon operation but felt that Israel had to halt the policy of establishing new Jewish settlements in the West Bank….

After the meeting, Mr. Begin said: ”I enjoyed the session very much. I believe in liberty, that free men should freely discuss problems and if they have differences of opinion they should voice them in sincerity.”

”I said it was a lively discussion,” he said. ”If you want to use other adjectives. …” He paused, then said, ”Lively is enough.”


From the New York Times, June 24, 1982:

Reporting on his meetings with the members of Congress, Mr. Begin said one of the senators had threatened to cut off aid if Israel continued creating settlements in the West Bank. The senator is reported to have been Joseph R. Biden Jr., Democrat of Delaware,

Mr. Begin cited the incident to give voice to a feeling that is held in his entourage - that Israel has rendered military service to the United States in battle-testing American arms.

”Sir, do not threaten us with cutting aid,” Mr. Begin said, in recounting his reply. ”First of all, you should know that this is not a one-way street. You help us, and we are very grateful for your help, but this is a two-way street. We do a lot for you.”


We await Mr. Peretz's reaction.

Center Bulletin, Vol 4, No. 47

Volume 4, Issue 47
September 3, 2008

Total Number of Visitors Since October 2004: 434,679


Menachem Begin versus Joseph Biden

Twenty-five years after his retirement from political life and sixteen years after his death, Menachem Begin is suddenly a factor in the upcoming US Presidential election. His name has appeared in reports and numerous websites describing a June 1982 confrontation Begin had while visiting Washington, DC, with then-Senator Joseph Biden of Delaware and now Vice Presidential candidate on the Democratic ticket. The report circu lating quotes a major article by Moshe Zak, a leading Israeli journalist and one-time editor of Ma'ariv, who wrote in the week of Begin's death in 1992 that:

During that committee hearing, at the height of the Lebanon War, Sen. John [sic, Joseph] Biden (Delaware) had attacked Israeli settlements in Judea and Samaria and threatened that if Israel did not immediately cease this activity, the US would have to cut economic aid to Israel. When the senator raised his voice and banged twice on the table with his fist, Begin com mented to him: “This desk is designed for writing, not for fists. Don’t threaten us with slashing aid. Do you think that because the US lends us money it is entitled to impose on us what we must do? We are grateful for the assistance we have received, but we are not to be threatened. I am a proud Jew. Three thousand years of culture are behind me, and you will not frighten me with threats. Take note: we do not want a single soldier of yours to die for us.”


When that report appeared last week, the Begin Center in Jerusalem received numerous inquiries from people asking for verification from official sources that such a conference had actually taken place. The Information Resources team at the Begin Center searched for relevant documents and found the official report of a press conference that Begin gave on his return from that particular visit to the US on 23 June 1982 in which he enumerated various important meetings he had with the Pres ident and other personalities and House of Representatives and Senate Foreign Relations Committees. Begin said that in the Foreign Relations Committee of the Senate:

A young senator rose and delivered a very impassioned speech - I must say that it's been a while since I've heard such a talented speaker - and he actually supported Operation "Peace for the Galilee". He even went further, and said that if someone from Canada were to infiltrate into the United States, and kill its citizens all of us (and thus he indicated a circle) would demand attacking them, and we wouldn't pay attention as to whether men, women or children were killed. That's what he said. I disassociated myself from these remarks. I said to him: No, sir; attention must be paid. According to our values, it is forbidden to hurt women and c hildren, even in war. …

And thus the argument went. But, as I said before, the same senator supported our operation in Lebanon - with all his heart, he said. What he doesn't like are our settlements in Judea and Samaria. I regret that I could not agree with him. He hinted - more than hinted - that if we continue with this policy, it is possible that he will propose cutting our financial aid. And to this I gave him a clear answer: Sir, do not threaten us with cutting aid. First of all, you should know that this is not a one- way street. You help us, and we are very grateful for your help; but this is a two-way street: We do a lot for you. And also in recent battles we did a lot for the United States; and I gave some examples, but this is not the place to go into them. Therefore, do not threaten us with cuts in aid, but take note: That if at any time you demand of us to yield on a principle in which we believe, while threatening to cut aid, we will not abandon the principle in which we believe - and propose cutting aid.


Moshe Zak wrote that "after the meeting, Sen. [Daniel] Moynihan approached Begin and praised him for his cutting reply. To which Begin answered with thanks, defining his stand against threats."


30 Years Ago: PM Begin Visits Romania

This week marks 30 years since Menachem Begin's visit as Prime Minister to Romania. He had two goals in mind—the first was to meet with the Jewish community which he had last visited 38 years previously and the second was to hold talks with President Ceausescu and Foreign Minister Macovescu. He wanted them to assure President Sadat that he, Begin, was serious in his efforts for peace.

On Begin's return to Israel, he told a press conference that:

The visit was a moving one. I refer to the meeting with the remnants of the Romanian Jewish Community in fact with the remnants of East European Jewry in general. We came to the synagogue on Friday evening, and there we saw the remnant of the glorious Jewish Community.

Before World War II there were a million Jews in Romania, but only 450,000 survived. Even in 1944 the arch-murderer Eichmann managed to deport from Transylvania, which is now part of Romania, hundreds of thousands of Jews and ship them to Auschwitz. This entire tragedy stood before my eyes when I saw the worshippers in t he synagogue. The old people, the women and the youngsters. The youngsters sang for us songs of Zion and we experienced profound emotion.

We must not forget that 38 years have passed since the outbreak of the war and the onset of the Holocaust, and this was the first time—after a span of a generation or more—that I had seen the remnants of East European Jewry.

The next day we went to the synagogue again—all the members of the entourage and myself—and again we met with the wonderful Jews who had survived. But in my mind's eye I saw also the thousands of Jews with whom I came to what was the Romanian border and who, on account of the intervention of the British Ambassador in Bucharest, were prevented from transiting to Constanza and from there to Israel…and as we were sitting in the synagogue: "We were like dreamers." Both because of the pain over those who are no longer alive and because of our encounter with those who still are—and they are loyal dedicated Jews who love Eretz Yisrael and are aware of what is happening in it.



High Tribute To the Begin Center by former Jerusalem Post Editor


A former editor-in-chief of the Jerusalem Post, Jeff Barak, wrote a critical article in the Post of today's leadership in Israel. He cited Ehud Barak's desire to sell his penthouse apartment in the Akirov Towers in Tel Aviv for $11 million.

At this point he wrote that:

a more telling comparison can be found in the excellent Menachem Begin Heritage Center museum in Jerusalem. There you can find a reconstruction of Begin's apartment at 1 Rehov Rosenbaum in Tel Aviv, his private residence until he became prime minister in 1977. The simply furnished living room is exactly like the living rooms of other lower middle-class Israelis of that period, who made do with very little. There is no room there for the grand piano so beloved of Barak. Begin, despite being the most grandiose and theatrical of politicians, lived a spartan way of life and handed this down to his children. His son Benny, a Jerusalemite, was famous, when a Knesset member, for taking the bus to the Knesset rather than using his MK's car.

Begin's successor, Yitzhak Shamir, as befits another former member of the Jewish underground, also lived modestly. His son Yair, the successful hi-tech entrepreneur, said that his father was disappointed in him when he decided to leave the air force, where he had been a successful career officer, in favor of the business world. Shamir senior was troubled by the thought, Yair said, that his son was giving up a job in which the security of the state was paramount in return for one where money became the prime object.



Camp David Commemoration

On the evening of 22 September, the famous Camp David meeting attended by Prime Minister Menachem Begin and President Anwar Sadat will be commemorated with the participation of a number of leading persons from that time. Israel will be represented by the 5th President of the State of Israel Yitzhak Navon and Supreme Court Justice Elyakim Rubinstein. The Begi n Center will be represented by Harry Hurwitz, Founder and President of the Menachem Begin Heritage Foundation, and the Bar Ilan University (a co-sponsor of the event) will be represented by the President of the University, Moshe Kaveh.

The following day a three-session symposium will be held at the Bar Ilan University. In that event, active participants in the Camp David negotiations and events will be the main speakers in the various panels.



Mazal Tov

Rami Shtivi, a senior worker in the Menachem Begin Archives at the Menachem Begin Center, and his bride Keren Shahar were married last week in a lovely ceremony on Kibbutz Hulda. The Begin Center extends hearty Mazal Tov to the newlyweds.

* * * * *

Yael, the daughter of Gaby and Shaul Mizrahi, was married last week at the Ahuzah Center in Jerusalem. Yae l was married to Yaron Pituvi. We extend a hearty Mazal Tov to the newlyweds, their parents and grandparents.

Monday, September 1, 2008

An Appreciation for Begin's Modesty

When did the rot set in?

JEFF BARAK , THE JERUSALEM POST

It's hard to feel sorry for Ehud Barak, forced out of his 370 square meter apartment on the 31st floor of the Akirov Towers in Tel Aviv. Barak has apparently realized that a more modest address, less identified with the very pinnacle of the Israeli business elite, would perhaps be more suitable for someone who aspires to the premiership as head of the Labor Party.

But showing some of the business acumen that helped him make his fortune so quickly after leaving public office, Barak is not prepared to move out cheaply - according to some newspaper reports he has set a price of around $11 million for the apartment which he bought for $2.5 million at the end of 2006. In comparison, Yitzhak Rabin's former duplex, also in a ritzy Tel Aviv neighborhood, was recently sold but reportedly for a much more modest price - NIS 4 million, a 10th of what Barak is asking for.

And a more telling comparison can be found in the excellent Menachem Begin Heritage Center museum in Jerusalem. There you can find a reconstruction of Begin's apartment at 1 Rehov Rosenbaum in Tel Aviv, his private residence until he became prime minister in 1977. The simply furnished living room is exactly like the living rooms of other lower middle-class Israelis of that period, who made do with very little. There is no room there for the grand piano so beloved of Barak. Begin, despite being the most grandiose and theatrical of politicians, lived a spartan way of life and handed this down to his children. His son Benny, a Jerusalemite, was famous when a Knesset member for taking the bus to the Knesset rather than using his MK's car.

Begin's successor, Yitzhak Shamir, as befits another former member of the Jewish underground, also lived modestly. His son Yair, the successful hi-tech entrepreneur, said that his father was disappointed in him when he decided to leave the air force, where he had been a successful career officer, in favor of the business world. Shamir senior was troubled by the thought, Yair said, that his son was giving up a job in which the security of the state was paramount in return for one where money became the prime object.