Three leaders of the nationalist Tehiya Party in Israel launched a three-week campaign in the United States to explain to American Jewry and others in the United States that “it is much better to have a confrontation with the (Carter) Administration today than have war (in the Mideast) tomorrow.”
At a press conference here today, three leaders of the party, MKs Moshe Shamir and Geula Cohen, and Rabbi Eliezer Woldman, head of the Nir Yeshiva in Kiryat Arab near Hebron, said that they undertook this campaign to alert American public opinion to the dangers of the U.S. policy toward Israel. “The Administration policy is weakening Israel and threatening its. security,” Shamir and Cohen charged. The three leaders said that along with the head of Tehiya, Prof. Yuval Ne’eman, they will address Jewish groups across the country, meet with Jewish leaders and U.S. officials in Washington, and hold interviews with the media. Ne’eman was not present during the press conference here due to a prior engagement in Dallas.
“We are here to tell the truth about the Jewish settlements and their importance to Israel’s existence; we are here to tell the truth about the peace treaty (with Egypt), which is actually a withdrawal treaty; we are here to tell the truth about (President Anwar) Sadat (of Egypt) who is regarded as an angel of peace but in reality gave nothing and received everything,” Cohen declared.
Shamir and Cohen also highly criticized Premier Menachem Begin, whose upcoming visit to Washington coincides with Tehiya’s U.S. campaign, charging that “Begin gave too much” to accommodate Sodat’s demands. “Our position is: no more concessions,” Cohen said.
Waldman said that Tehiya represents the majority of Israelis who believe that the peace treaty with Egypt is only weakening Israel. He said Israel must “regain its independence” as a Jewish State and determine its own future. in response to a question, Shamir said Tehiya’s mission here is financed by supporters of Tehiya in the United States. The party was formed some six months ago after Shamir and Cohen left Likud and formed their own movement which attracted many of those who objected to the Comp David agreements and Begin’s autonomy plan.
JTA has documented Jewish history in real-time for over a century. Keep our journalism strong by joining us in supporting independent, award-winning reporting.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
