Begin Defends Dayan

Premier Menachem Begin delivered a spirited defense of Foreign Minister Moshe Dayan at a meeting with the Likud Knesset faction in his office last night and called on the Foreign Minister — presently on a tour of the Far East — to remain in his government. “You have made great contributions to the peace. Stay on and make great contributions to Israel’s security and welfare,” Begin declared addressing the absent Dayan.

The Premier was clearly seeking to lay to rest rumors of a serious rift between himself and Dayan and was expressing confidence in the Foreign Minister whose resignation has been demanded by some members of Begin’s own Herut faction. They were infuriated when Dayan recently likened the juridical status of the Golan Heights to that of Sinai, an implication, they believe, that Israel would one day have to withdraw from the Golan in order to achieve peace with Syria.

Although Dayan denied that he had such a scenario in mind, the Herut Executive, meeting Monday, voted to recommend his dismissal. Begin conceded that Dayan’s choice of words was not “fortunate” but said that was not grounds for firing him. In negotiations with Syria, Israel would indeed demand that the international border be changed, Begin said.

He also expressed shock that Transport Minister Haim Landau recently revived the charges that Dayan was responsible for Israel’s unpreparedness in the Yom Kippur War. Dayan was Defense Minister in the Labor government at the time. Begin said that because Landau was “one of my closest friends,” people may have inferred that he spoke for the Prime Minister, but this was not the case. He said he never excluded Dayan from criticism but hinted that the blame for Israel’s near catastrophe rested with the late Premier Golda Meir.