The Begin Center's Newest Publication

In 1952, Menachem Begin published a pamphlet entitled "Weltanschaung - National Outlook - Fundamental Outlines".

For many years it served as the clearest statement of the national-liberal ideology of the Herut Movement as developed by Ze'ev Jabotinsky, the Revisionist Movement and Menachem Begin himself.

It has long been out of print but ever since it was encased in the Begin Museum, at the beginning of the Roth Family "Avenue of the Heritage", thousands of people have asked for it.

It is now available and below is a picture of the cover:

An Excerpt from Ken Stein's Article

We think that this following excerpt from Professor Kenneth W. Stein's article My Problem with Jimmy Carter's Book in Middle East Quarterly, Spring 2007 issue, we be of interest to our readers.

The Ghost of Menachem Begin

Carter's animosity toward Begin has grown with time. He blames Begin for refusing to negotiate over the West Bank. Not only did this deny Carter a more complete peace deal, but, Carter believes, it also institutionalized itself in Israeli policymaking, worsening the Palestinians' plight. Since Begin took office on May 17, 1977, ending the Labor movement's hegemony in Israeli political life, Carter has repeatedly blasted Israeli prime ministers for what he terms the creation of a "horrible" and "terrible" state of affairs for the Palestinians in areas of east Jerusalem, the West Bank, and the Gaza Strip.

The mistrust was mutual and began to surface before Begin's election. According to Eliyahu Ben-Elissar, then Begin's bureau chief, "Begin did not like [Carter's] March 1977 statement that the Palestinian refugees needed a homeland. None of us liked it. We resented it ... Begin considered it a major shift in U.S. policy."[11]

Indeed, skepticism of Carter's intentions may have convinced Begin to take a harder line about the West Bank, which, in line with biblical terminology, he called Judea and Samaria. During his tenure as prime minister, Begin forbade the negotiation agenda to include the West Bank and those portions of Jerusalem that the Israeli government annexed after the 1967 Six-Day war. This refusal to negotiate became Carter's core disagreement with Begin. Carter realized that with Begin adamant against further concessions, he had no tangible item to offer to the Palestinians or other Arab leaders to reach a broader peace agreement. With Begin not offering a fallback position, Carter could not initiate a conclusive Israeli-Palestinian negotiating process. He never forgave Begin.

Intertwined in the dispute over the West Bank was the issue of Israeli settlements. Samuel Lewis, U.S. ambassador to Israel at the time, explained, "Begin would never consider admitting that the [Israeli] right to settle wasn't a right, and Carter, basically, was asking him [Begin] to agree that settlements were illegal."[12] Begin refused. The subsequent expansion of settlements has further embittered Carter's relations with Israeli leaders and with Israel's supporters in the United States, whom he believes are willfully silent on the subject.

While Carter lauds Begin for his intelligence, a point he has repeatedly made when speaking to my students, his animus toward the late Israeli leader is limitless. This became evident when we were writing The Blood of Abraham, and Carter insisted on asserting that Begin "wanted to expand Israeli borders to both sides of the Jordan River." In fact, this is anachronistic. True, this had been Begin's view prior to Israel's independence in 1948, but it was not, as Carter implied, Begin's position after his twenty-nine years in the Knesset (parliament) or during his premiership. During chapter editing, I brought the error to Carter's attention. He declined to correct it.[13]

During the difficult negotiations between Egypt and Israel, Carter and his advisers tried to get Sadat to engage in a collusive scheme: They would encourage Sadat to make "deliberately exaggerated" demands. The White House would then intervene to "compel" Cairo to scale back its demands in exchange for Israeli concessions. Then-national security advisor Brzezinski explained that Washington would "apply maximum leverage on Israel to accommodate,"[14] by keeping the West Bank's political future on the table for future negotiations. That Carter risked possible Israeli-Egyptian peace in an effort to extract greater concessions from Begin underscores the tension in their relationship.

In 1983, the first time Begin met Carter after both had left office, Begin was icy toward the ex-president. Carter surmised that he may have "aggravated him [Begin] more than usual."[15] Begin's personal secretary later said Begin was angry with what he had learned in the books by Brzezinski and National Security Council staff member William B. Quandt about Carter's behind-the-scenes maneuvering. This anger grew after he read the claim in The Blood of Abraham regarding his alleged desire to expand Israeli borders across the Jordan River.[16] On our 1987 trip to Israel, Begin refused to see Carter, citing health reasons, but Begin's personal secretary told me it was because of the way Carter had treated Begin.

Carter also blames difficulties with Begin for undermining his re-election. In early 1980, with the critical New York Democratic primary looming, Mondale urged Carter to repudiate the U.S. vote for U.N. Security Council Resolution (UNSCR) 465,[17] which had condemned Israeli settlement activity. According to Brzezinski:

Jewish voters swung heavily over to Senator [Edward] Kennedy, ensuring Carter's defeat. The set-back prolonged the Carter-Kennedy contest. Sadat did not want a final showdown on the Palestinian problem prior to the return of the Sinai to Egypt. Without pressure from Sadat, our own incentive to push Israel hard was much decreased. Begin proved himself to be a skilled manipulator ... adroit at delaying tactics and in diversionary public appeals ... by mid-June it was clear even to Mondale that Begin wanted Carter defeated.[18]

According to Brzezinski, Carter believed his disagreement with Begin to have both cost him critical primary victories and to have weakened his re-election bid.[19] But other issues—high inflation and mortgage rates, the Iran hostage crisis, a national sense of malaise, and the third party candidature of John Anderson—may have contributed more to Carter's loss.

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


[11] Author interview with Eliyahu Ben-Elissar, Jerusalem, Nov. 13, 1992.
[12] Remarks by Samuel Lewis, The United States Institute for Peace, minutes of a study group session on Lessons Learned from Fifty Years of Negotiating Experiences, Washington, D.C., Apr. 16, 1991.
[13] Carter, The Blood of Abraham, p. 42.
[14] Brzezinski, Power and Principle, pp. 242-7.
[15] Carter, The Blood of Abraham, p. 107.
[16] Author interview with Yahiel Kadishai, Begin's secretary (1977-83) and confidante, July 5, 1993, Tel Aviv.
[17] UNSC Resolution 465: "Territories Occupied by Israel," Mar. 1, 1980.
[18] Brzezinksi, Power and Principle, pp. 442-3.
[19] Ibid.

Center Bulletin - Volume 3, Issue 15

Menachem Begin
Heritage Center, Jerusalem
Volume 3, Issue 15
January 24, 2007

Total Number of Visitors Since October 2004: 253,465

Yitzhak Navon, 5th President of Israel,
Visits the Center for the 6th PM of Israel

President Yitzhak Navon, Israel's fifth President and his son Ophir, visited the Menachem Begin Heritage Center on Friday. They were received, briefed and accompanied on the tour of the museum and other facilities of the building by Herzl Makov the Director General.
President Navon was very impressed by the building and asked many questions about its development. He saw the Beit Midrash Menachem, the synagogue which is the basis for the Rohr Family Parashat HaShavua program and they saw the Reuben Hecht auditorium and were informed about the Junior Knesset program.
At various stages during his tour in the museum, where President Navon appears with Prime Minister Begin, there was an animated discussion as he recalled the episode and the events surrounding it.
At the conclusion of their tour, President Navon wrote the following message in the Visitors' Book:
A center rich in content and wonderful in form. A riveting project worthy of a magnificent personality. Begin's life story is intertwined with the chronicle of the nation's struggles, presenting his endeavors, his burning faith and his acts in a tangible and informative way. Thanks to those who initiated the project and to those who direct it. A special thanks to Herzl Makov for his informative explanations. With deep gratitude, Yitzchak Navon

The 2nd Annual "Elitzur" Memorial Lecture

The Reuben Hecht Auditorium of the Menachem Begin Heritage Center and an overflow area was filled to capacity for the 2nd annual "Elitzur" Memorial Lecture. In introducing the evening, the Chairman, Herzl Makov, Director General of the Begin Center and Harry Hurwitz, Head of the Center, paid tribute to the family of "Elitzur" Izchak Friedman for sponsoring this annual lecture thus keeping alive the tradition of heroism of Irgun fighters and leaders as an example for future generations.
He described "Elitzur" as a real "Unknown Soldier" as was Yoni Netanyahu, who served with great distinction in Israel's Special Commando unit, and rose, meteor-like, to international fame after the Entebbe Rescue operation.
That was the subject of a long, detailed lecture by Dr. Ido Netanyahu whose new book of nearly 800 pages has just been published by Yediot Ahronot. Dr. Netanyahu based his book on documents and interviews which captured the atmosphere and spirit of the time. He was critical of distortion in the media both about the actions of Yoni and about his own later writings about Entebbe, which he sought to clarify and to establish the historic truth.
Dr. Jonathan Friedman gave a brief introduction to the memorial lecture in honor of his father and Mr. Dov Eichenwald of the Yediot Book Publishing Division said it was a great honor for them to publish this important book.
Present in the audience were Prof. BenZion Netanyahu, the famous historian, and other member of the Netanyahu family, and members and friends of the Friedman Family. Prof. Moshe Arens, his wife Muriel and some guests were also in the audience.

Junior Knesset Fills the Begin Center

Last week, 260 students of Daphna Junior High in Kiryat Bialik, a suburb of Haifa, came to the Begin Center in Jerusalem to complete their semester-long Junior Knesset program.
After learning about the process of legislation, including preparation and the passing of a law and understanding the principles of debate and parliamentarism, the participants came to the Begin Center to engage in a "Knesset session" in which they debate and pass a law. This session was a simulation on the topic of freedom of the press.
The youngsters were well-prepared and enthusiastic throughout the process. During the committee discussions they were very animated and deeply involved. They were very passionate about the topic which encouraged lively debate in the Knesset session.

Debate Finals

Dozens of young representatives of schools participated in debates under the auspices of Sia'h vaSig—The Israel Debating Society whose leaders, Asher Wyle and Ann Kirson Swersky, were present and judged the debating.
The best debaters will participate in further stages of national competition and winners will go on to represent Israel in English debating in South Africa for the World Schools Individual Debating Championship, in Seoul, South Korea for the World Schools Debating Championship and for places on teams in other competitions world-wide.

AIPAC Delegation Tours the Center

Part of a delegation from AIPAC, which was visiting Israel, came to the Menachem Begin Heritage Center last Thursday. They were received by the Head of the Center, Harry Hurwitz, who briefed them on the structure of the building and its various features and accompanied them through the museum.
It appeared from their remarks that the participants found the tour most interesting and said they would advise their colleagues and members of their community to visit the Center next time they are in Israel.

On Friday, Herzl Makov met with a group of journalists who were in Israel as guests of AIPAC. He spoke to them about Begin and answered questions about the current situation.

In Memoriam

We deeply regret to record the death at the beginning of this week of Bella Kass, the mother of Danny Kass who was on the Menachem Begin Heritage Center Building Committee. We extend our heartfelt sympathy to Danny, his sister Naomi, his brother Marty, and all their families. Bella and her husband Boris, who predeceased her, grew up in Latvia and were active in the Zionist youth movements and the Jewish community. As a young woman, she worked on the staff of Ze'ev Jabotinsky after the founding of the World Betar Movement. They immigrated to Salisbury, Southern Rhodesia (Zimbabwe) where they raised their family and were leaders of the Jewish community. Bella Kass had been ill the last few years, but made the effort to visit the Begin Center with Danny and his wife about a year ago. She was very moved by what she saw and heard.

Visitors

Rabbi Jay Abrams, who heads a rabbinic education institution in Jerusalem visited the Center last week and met with the head of the Center after touring the museum
* * * * *
Mrs. Lynn Himelstein of Indianapolis, Indiana, and her daughter Allyson came to the Begin Center accompanied by Mr. David Zwebner who is on the Board of the Menachem Begin Heritage Foundation. They were most impressed by the whole concept, structure and presentation of the Center.

Visitor Comments:
v To the museum team, well done! Congratulations to the planners of the Center. It is a masterpiece, magnificent. You can't describe the personality of Menachem Begin better than that. – Ramat HaSharon, Israel
v The visit here was inspiring and sent chills down our spines. No doubt that he was a great, unique man! One of the greatest sons of all the generations. May his memory be blessed and be chiseled on our hearts forever. – in the name of the Tax and Customs Office of Jerusalem, Israel
v The power of Vision. May we know how to use it for the small things and the big things in our lives – Israel

From the Archives

The above is a telegram sent to Prime Minister and the Defense Minister Menachem Begin by then Major (Res.) Dan Halutz and Captain (Res.) Y'hoav Gal on May 18, 1981.

It reads:

"1. With you all the way.

2.Expecting vigorous responses against the hot-headed attempts of the Maarach (the coalition of socialist parties: Labor, Ahdut HaAvoda) to spread dissension amongst the people.

3. It need be made clear to Shimon Peres that his words [negating the operation] are causing hesitation and doubt regarding the justness of our way also amongst those in the army.

4. As part of the fighter manpower that are scheduled to carry out your decisions we stand behind you without limit."

The bombing of the Iraqi nuclear reactor took place on June 7.

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