Labor Party Convention Begins: Rabin Stresses Role His Gov’t Played in Bringing Israel Along Road to

Premier Yitzhak Rabin, fighting for his political life, told the Labor Party convention which opened here today that his government has brought Israel far along the road to peace with its neighbors and to economic recovery at home.

He declared that under his leadership, the Labor Party was undergoing a rejuvenation process, that the wise and correct political decisions by his team made possible the army’s spectacular recovery from the Yom Kippur War and forged ties of unprecedented strength between Israel and the United States.

Rabin delivered the keynote address in the convention hall packed with the 3000 delegates who must decide tomorrow whether to retain him as party leader or replace him with Defense Minister Shimon Peres. The convention is also being attended by an array of dignitaries from abroad, including Chancellor Bruno Kreisky of Austria, Premier Joop Den Uyl of Holland, former Premier Olaf Palme of Sweden and former West German Chancellor Willy Brandt.

READY FOR PEACE, COMPROMISE

Rabin said the people of Israel were “ready for peace and ready, under Labor leadership, for the drawn-out and nerve-wracking efforts that achieving peace will possibly entail.” He said the people were ready for compromise on all fronts in return for peace. Rabin also referred to recent political developments.

He said Egyptian President Anwar Sadat’s proposal for a Jordanian-Palestinian link-up before the Geneva conference is “a step in the right direction but only a small and unclear step.” He added, however, that it signaled Jordan’s return to the negotiating arena which was long hoped for and predicted by his government.

Rabin said his government constantly sought to promote peace initiatives and would continue to do so. He said its cautious but firm position on Lebanon has been vindicated by events there and restored Israel’s credibility. The Premier, who was warmly received, got his biggest applause when he declared that 1976 had been the first year in Israel’s history when not one single Israeli soldier or civilian was killed by enemy action.

The Premier also claimed that his government is overcoming the huge economic problems it inherited after the Yom Kippur War. He noted that it succeeded in narrowing the balance of payment gap, that it initiated income tax reforms that put hundreds of thousands of new taxpayers on the tax rolls and that it succeeded in maintaining full employment, an aim that has eluded much stronger and more stable economies than Israel’s.

RABIN, PERES EACH CONFIDENT OF VICTORY

Rabin is Israel’s first Prime Minister to be challenged for leadership by a member of his own party. He is also the first who will be voted on by all 3000 convention delegates rather than, as in the past, by the 600 members of the party’s central committee alone.

As the convention opened, both he and his rival, Peres, exuded confidence. Each claimed that victory was assured. Rabin and Peres will both make last minute appeals to the convention tomorrow evening after which the balloting will commence. The results are not expected to be known with any certainty before midnight Israel time.

Peres, and one of his principal supporters, former Foreign Minister Abba Eban, held a press conference today. Eban rejected the charge that his dovish views and the hawkish position of Peres made for a peculiar alliance. He noted that the Labor Party always embraced a wide spectrum of opinion and claimed that a Peres-led government would allow full expression of its diversity.

Peres denied that he has adopted a more moderate line on territorial concessions on the West Bank for election purposes. He said he had long held the view that concessions were possible in the context of a real peace. He pledged that under his leadership, Israel would seek new methods to increase immigration and to narrow the social gap.

Peres spoke of the need to decentralize the government and reduce the number of ministries. Above all, he declared, there is wide public demand for change in Israel’s leadership and the Labor Party, headed by himself, could satisfy that demand.

Some of the other foreign guests who delivered greetings to the convention were Invar Leveros, chairman of Norway’s Socialist Party; Kiel Olsen, vice-chairman of the Socialist Party of Denmark; Francois Mitterand, leader of the French Socialist Party and a possible Presidential candidate; and Francisco Salgado Senja, second in command in the ruling Socialist Party of Portugal. Attending from Britain were Peter Shore, Minister for Environment and Ian Mikardo, chairman of the Labor Party’s national executive.