Defense Minister Moshe Dayan declared last night of his government’s return to the Jarring talks that “Israel made the right decision to jump into the cold water, and I believe that we are able to swim in it without catching pneumonia or drowning.” He was alluding to a criticism by opposition leader Menachem Beigin, who had complained that Dayan’s earlier endorsement of a “jump into the cold water” was dangerous because Israel might “catch pneumonia.” Dayan told Haifa University students last night: “The present circumstances obliged Israel to return to the talks, and it is no disgrace for a nation of two and a half millions, with many great aims, to say that circumstances, not great powers, obliged us to do so.” He added that he was convinced that Israel’s return to the peace table was in her interest.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
