Premier Menachem Begin has been saying in recent days that he is a happy man. Those close to him readily substantiate that this is indeed so. Even casual observers agree with this. In fact, during the lengthy Knesset debate yesterday Begin demonstrated that he was in excellent spirits. Between the marathon speeches for and against his peace plan, Begin sat in the Knesset cafeteria telling jokes and giving his impressions of his weekend visit to Ismailia, quite obviously enjoying the attention.
Political considerations aside, Begin had good reasons to be happy. Not since the Six-Day War has an Israeli leader enjoyed so mush public support for his policy. The Knesset vote yesterday on his planï¿??68-4 with 40 abstentionsï¿??was probably a modest indicator of the division of camps on the governmentï¿??s peace plan: a majority of supporters, a small group of opponents, and a relatively large group of those who are not so sure.
Moreover, the bloc of 40 abstainees should be taken with reservation when applied to general public support. The man on the street does not make the delicate considerations taken by opposition Knesseters, whose votes do not always have a direct correlation with their political beliefs. It is, there fore, safe to assume that public support for Beginï¿??s peace policy is even larger.
COMPARED TO BEN GURION
Begin, 64, a veteran political leader, who until the recent elections was considered pass? by many, now emerges as a national leader compared by many Israelis to David Ben Gurionï¿??possessing an authoritarian nature, who like the first Premier of Israel knows how to make unpopular decisions.
Ben Gurion faced serious criticism from some of his closest associates when he decided after the War of Independence that there was no more room for semi-independent, semi-political army units such as the Palmach, a commando unit which was under the command of the Hagana. Despite the popularity of the Palmach, Ben Gurion dissolved the unit by incorporating it into the newly-born Israel Defense Forces.
Beginï¿??s Palmach is, in a way, Gush Emunimï¿??the body that Begin always praised, and still praisesï¿??for its ï¿??pioneering spiritï¿?? in settling throughout Eretz Yisrael.
DEALING WITH GUSH EMUNIM
not that Begin wants to liquidate Gush Emunim. On the contrary, despite recent bitter comments by the Gush leaders against his policy, Begin recently said several times: ï¿??I have loved them and I still love them.ï¿?? But the Gush has become the focus for the opponents of the new peace policy, mainly settlers in the administered territories, among them members of the Labor-linked settlement movement.
When representatives of the settlements met in Ofra in Samaria on Tuesday, some of the speakers were so enraged by the new policy that they asserted: ï¿??We declare that we love Eretz Yisrael more than Menachem Begin.ï¿?? One of the speakers went so far to say that Beginï¿??s moves were motivated by his aspiration to win the Nobel Peace Prize.
This did not pass unnoticed by Begin. During the Knesset discussion yesterday the Premier referred to his ï¿??loveï¿?? for the Gush Emunim but also demanded to know by what right the Ofra settlers accused him of beina motivated by the thought of winning a peace prize. ï¿??This young man (who made the accusation) is actually accusing me of spending years of political work for material interest, ï¿??Begin declared, hardly hiding his rage.
Begin said he had told the Gush Emunim that they should get rid of their messianic complexes, go about their business and display greater modesty.
Thus, for the first time since Egyptian President Anwar Sadatï¿??s peace initiative, Being declared a political war against those who were his strongest supporters. The Gush leaders, leaders, in their turn, although expressing regret at some of the personal insults against Begin, said they would not spare any efforts in changing public opinion in their favor.
In so doing, Gershon Shafat, the political secretary of Gush Emunim, has actually admitted that the majority of public opinion does not support them.
GIVING PEACE A CHANCE
It could not have been different. A nation which has been exposed for a very intensive month to the nation that peace is around the corner will not hold back lits support from a government that promotes this notion. Whether or not peace is indeed near, the majority of Israelis are determined to give it a chance. This is partly the reason that made 120,000 Israelis rally last week for a massive ï¿??peace happeningï¿?? in Tel Aviv. The absence of any significant opposition to the left of Likud only makes the job easier for the government.
The doubts heard this week regarding Beginï¿??s peace policy are not so much in connection with the actual policy, as much as it is with the way it is carried out, by one manï¿??s decision, very much like in the days of Ben Gurion.
Nevertheless, Beginï¿??s method of carrying out policy did not deter 64 Knesset members from voting for his plan. The vote, following an II-hour debate, showed that those in opposition included several Likud and National religious Party hardliners. Those abstaining included all the 32 Labor Party Alignment members, several NRP members, Binyamin Halevi of the Democratic Movement for Change, and Arye Eliav of Sheli. Likud and Labor members had been allowed to vote their conscience on the Begin plan.
Among the Likud members who voted against the plan were Geula Cohen and Moshe Shamir, both advocates of the Greater Israel Movement. Earlier in the day they had encouraged some 1000 demonstrators from Sinai settlements who had come to the Knesset to protest Beginï¿??s Sinai course.
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.
