Mapai Leaders Urge Ben-gurion to ‘forget the Lavon Affair’

David Ben-Gurion has been urged by leaders of his Mapai party to issue a “let’s forget the Lavon affair” statement to speed formation of a new Government to replace the one he toppled January 31.

A pledge to that effect would be an assurance to would-be coalition partners that Mr. Ben-Gurion would not revive his demand for a new investigation into the 1954 security mishap which led to a bitter personal feud between Mr. Ben-Gurion and Pinhas Lavon, who bowed to Mapai pressure and resigned today as Histadrut secretary-general.

The left-wing Mapam, however, said it had informed President Ben-Zvi that it was ready to join the Mapai party in a new Government coalition only if some leader other than Mr. Ben-Gurion was the Prime Minister. It appeared likely that Achdut Avodah, which opposed the Prime Minister on the Lavon battle even more strongly than did Mapam, would set a similar condition for joining a new Mapai-dominated coalition.

The key to the coalition maneuverings still appeared, however, to rest with the Progressive party which Mr. Ben-Gurion was continuing to court intensively. The Progressives promised to give Mr. Ben-Gurion a reply by Sunday. Meanwhile, they issued a denial of reports in Mapai newspapers that they were already inclined to enter a new Ben-Gurion coalition.

President Ben-Zvi met today with the General Zionists who proposed new general elections as had the Herut at a consultation meeting with the President. It was reported that both Mapam and Achdut Avodah also were leaning toward the idea of new elections. There was no certainty that Mr. Ben-Gurion would not find elections fitting his purposes. If he won, he would be able to reshuffle the list of Mapai members of the Knesset, Israel’s Parliament, to give higher positions to his supporters in the party.