La Von Satisfied Sharrett ‘cleared’ Him; Political Fight Goes on

Pinhas Lavon, who resigned his post as Defense Minister in 1955, said today he was satisfied with a statement made by Moshe Sharett, then Prime Minister, which Lavon said cleared him of responsibility for the “unfortunate affair” that brought about his resignation.

The fight surrounding the entire Lavon affair continues, however, on various levels–in Israel’s Parliament, among the opposition parties that are partners in the coalition Government, and even inside Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion’s own, dominant Mapai Party.

The report on the “affair” by the special commission headed by Supreme Court Justice Haim Cohn, and Attorney General Gideon Hausner’s comments on that report, have been published here. (Transmittal of the contents of those documents by foreign correspondents was, however, still forbidden today by the Government censorship).

Mr. Lavon, commenting that the Attorney General’s report included a statement of clearance from Sharett, said he was “contented and satisfied.”

The issue was by no means dead, however, a fact Lavon indicated in saying that, while the “Affaire Lavon” had ceased to exist, the still greater and more secret “unfortunate affair” was still unresolved, and the investigation as to who would conduct the investigation was still open.

Mr. Ben-Gurion intervened in the Knesset debate on his state of the nation address to declare that he would not, in his reply, deal with the “unfortunate affair.” He argued that the “affair” had no place in the debate, since he did not refer to it in his report.

There have been widespread demands among all political parties in the coalition Government that the Prime Minister submit a full report on the inquiry.