Prime Minister Levi Eshkol appealed “to all parties concerned” to “leave the Lavon Affair alone” and drop that issue, over which he resigned from the Government recently, resuming the Premiership only when he obtained full support for his disagreement on the matter with former Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion.
Addressing a faction of his Mapai Party, composed of Israelis in the academic field, Mr. Eshkol used an unaccustomed emotional tone when he told the gathering that no one ever informed him he would be expected to reopen the Lavon affair when he assumed the post of Prime Minister. He noted that neither of his two predecessors in that post–Mr. Ben-Gurion or Moshe Sharett–“did so when in office.”
“There is such a thing as morality among friends,” he declared. “I should have been told beforehand that I would be expected to do what others did not do.” In his opinion, the Premier added, “the majority of the people in the nation does not want a reopening of the Lavon affair.”
During the discussion period, when members of his audience pointed to the “enduring influence” of Mr. Ben-Gurion on many members of Mapai, Mr. Eshkol replied: “We should be able to put a stop to the biggest myth of all. There were cases in which our movement did reject Ben-Gurion’s position, and he accepted our ruling.”
Asked whether Pinhas Lavon’s formation of his independent political group, Min Hayesod, would affect Mapai’s plans for realignment with Ahdut Avodah, Mr. Eshkol said that development would have no negative effect. “Ahdut understands that there is no place for deserters in such an alignment,” he said.
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