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Carter’s Schedule for Meetings with Begin Will Depart from the Norm

March 21, 1978
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President Carter has departed from the usual schedules for distinguished foreign visitors for his meetings with Israeli Premier Menachem Begin this week. The two leaders and their wives, in an unprecedented event in this Administration, will meet at a private dinner–just the four of them–at the White House tomorrow night.

At the same time, Secretary of State Cyrus Vance will be host to Israeli Foreign Minister Moshe Dayan and the six other members of the Begin party at a dinner at the State Department. Usually, either a formal state dinner or a “working” dinner is given by the President at the White House for the visitor and his party and leaders of government and Congress also are present.

Neither will there be a military presence on the White House lawn when Begin arrives at the White House tomorrow morning for the first of his three scheduled meetings. Instead of such formalities on the lawn, Begin will proceed unceremoniously across Pennsylvania Avenue to the White House from Blair House where he and his wife, Aliza, will be guests during their four-day Washington stay.

Military color guards, however, will be present at Andrews Air Force Base when the Begins arrive from New York today, and also at the Reflecting Pool near the Lincoln Memorial when they leave Thursday afternoon. Vance will be present at both ceremonies.

A RASH OF MEETING

Besides the meeting at the White House with the President tomorrow, Begin will have lunch with the Senate Foreign Relations Committee at the Capitol and late in the afternoon he will meet with the House international Relations Committee. On Wednesday, Carter and Begin will hold their second meeting and then the Premier will lunch with Vance at the State Department.

AFL-CIO president George Meany will visit Begin at Blair House late Wednesday afternoon. A reception in honor of the Begins will be given by Israeli Ambassador Simcha Dinitz Wednesday night Begin will address the National Press Club Thursday. Vance will hold a news conference Friday morning at the State Department. Upon leaving Washington late Thursday, Begin will stop in New York to meet with Jewish leaders before returning to Israel that night.

In addition to Dayan, Begin is accompanied by Meir Rosenne, legal advisor for the Foreign Ministry; Yehiel Kadishia, director of the Prime Minister’s Bureau; Yehuda Avner, an advisor to Begin; Brig. Gen. Ephraim Poran, Begin’s military secretary; Eli Rubinstein, director of the Foreign Ministry’s Bureau; and Daniel Pattir, Begin’s press spokesman.

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