President Carter placed responsibility for peace in the Middle East and in the world on Israel as he welcomed Israeli Premier Menachem Begin today for their third meeting at the White House in less than a year.
Begin, in turn, reminded the President of the Palestine Liberation Organization slaughter of Israelis 10 days ago and “the implacable character of the enemy” Israel faces and expressed hope that “the spirit of Jerusalem, Washington and Ismailia” that flowed from Egyptian President Anwar Sadat’s visit to Israel “will be renewed.”
Speaking of the “times of trial,” Begin emphasized, “we shall overcome.” He asserted Israel’s wish for peace “which we yearn for Israel and the Arab countries.”
The two leaders spoke briefly in the warm spring sunshine on the White House lawn before they went into the first of their three scheduled sessions which the President had requested. Both spoke extemporaneously in a brief and relatively informal appearance in an atmosphere of cool politeness.
“Israel is now militarily and in many other ways stronger than ever before in history,” Carter told Begin. “With their strength in physical terms and with the strength of the leadership in Israel rests the prospects for a resolution of the difficulty that have so long divided the people of the Middle East.”
Describing Begin as a “man of destiny,” the President said that “on his able shoulders rests the responsibility for the future of his own people, the people of the Middle East and indeed of those who love peace around the world.” Carter added: “Peace can come from a guarantee of security, and our staunch friendship for Israel will continue to be a major element in this foundation for progress.”
U.S. COMMITMENT FOR ISRAEL IS PERMANENT
Welcoming Begin as the “leader of the great and courageous State of Israel,” Carter spoke of their “mutual search” for peace and pledged that the U.S. commitment for Israel is “absolutely permanent and unshakeable.” But, the President added, “the dream” for Israel “to live in peace” has not been realized. “This dream,” he said after recalling that Israel will celebrate its 30th anniversary in two months, has been “shackled by perpetual war” and “the human suffering characteristic of Jews everywhere.”
Then, reminding Begin “of the broad scope” of United Nations Security Council Resolution 242 about which the two leaders have been strongly at adds in recent weeks, Carter noted Sadat’s visit to Jerusalem in November and remarked “those bright days of opportunity are now clouded over.”
The President, without mentioning the PLO, spoke of “terrorists” who kill innocents in Israel and the “loss of hundreds of lives and tens of thousands of homes” in southern Lebanon, a clear restatement of the usual position of “cycle and recycle of violence” that State Department spokesmen usually assert when Israel strikes back at Arab terrorists.
In his brief response to Carter, Begin recalled the March II atrocity in Israel and declared: “We believe we shall overcome because we believe it is our duty, and our duty to our people and to humanity. I say again we shall overcome.”
Apparently in response to the President’s remarks about Israel’s responsibility for peace, the Premier pointed out that Israel had offered a detailed peace plan, “a most forthcoming plan,” that he had shown to Carter and Sadat in December. He said that the “atmosphere which prevailed” in December in Jerusalem, Washington and later in Ismailia reflected “the real understanding of friendship and openness. We can only pray that the spirit of Jerusalem, Washington and Ismailia will be renewed.”
Begin said that the “friendship of the American and Israeli peoples is everlasting.” He said “We find proofs of this time and time again.” Begin thanked Carter for his “sentiments after the unspeakable atrocity” 10 days ago and he expressed hope the current talks will “deepen the friendship between our two countries.”
SEVERAL HUNDRED PEOPLE GREET BEGIN
Several hundred members of the Washington Jewish community, mostly students from local Hebrew day schools, greeted Begin near Blair House this morning before he went to the White House for his first meeting with Carter. The welcome was organized by the Jewish Community Council of Greater Washington.
The youngsters carried placards, some of which read “Shalom Mr. Begin on your Mission of Peace.” Two students, selected by their classmates–Rebecca Weitzman and Debbie Opolion–presented Begin and his wife, Aliza, with bouquets symbolizing the community’s wishes for success in his “mission of peace.”
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