Peace Celebrations in Israel

The signing of a peace treaty between Israel and Egypt was celebrated in Israel today with religious services of thanksgiving at the Western Wall, dancing in the streets of Israel’s major cities and public viewing of the treaty-signing in Washington which was shown outdoors on large screens set up in scores of cities and towns.

But despite the historic moment, the general mood throughout the country was subdued and even somber, reflecting the concern of many Israelis over the risks Israel is taking with accepting the treaty’s terms.

Some 1200 members of youth movements, secondary school pupils and youth battalion members placed 160,000 red carnations on the graves of Israelis — Jews, Druze, Bedouins and members of other minorities — who fell in battle since 1948. “We humbly remember and shall never forget who gave their lives to make this day possible,” the army’s chief chaplain said during a ceremony at the military cemetery in Jerusalem.

All public buildings in the country flew the Israeli flag to mark the day. Special ceremonies and assemblies were held in every school, and many persons who took part in Israel’s struggle for independence appeared before classes and youth groups, telling their personal stories. President Yitzhak Navon, in a special address to the nation, spoke in both Hebrew and Arabic.

NAVON URGES ARABS TO JOIN PEACE

Navon called on Arab leaders and Arabs throughout the Mideast to end their animosity and join the peace process, and support the autonomy plan. He said that the treaty with Egypt was not a separate agreement, but rather the first in a series of similar agreements with the neighboring countries.

Navon expressed special admiration for the Egyptian people, who, he said, decided to face the future and let “the bitterness and the suffering of the past drift away with the Nile to the great sea.” He also stressed the special role President Carter played in the peace process and the efforts of Premier Menachem Begin, “thanks to which we have reached the hour of a peace encounter between the national Arab movement and the national movement of the Jewish people.”

Navon urged the Arab leaders to listen to the “bell of history which rings with new tunes.” In traditional Arab flowery style, he added: “The procession of peace is marching on. Do not throw rocks at it. On the contrary, give it your blessings, and those who bless, will be blessed from above.”

During the thanksgiving ceremony at the Western Wall, the world famous violinist Yehudi Menuhin played a Bach Prelude. In an interview over the Israel Army Broadcasting Service, composer-conductor Leonard Bernstein said that he was glad the peace treaty had been signed. “I have a dream that one day I shall conduct Aida near the pyramids with the Israeli Philharmonic Orchestra and with the Egyptian ballet troupe,” he said.

But while Israel celebrated its first treaty with an Arab nation, Arabs on the West Bank staged a general strike, declaring today as “a day of mourning.” West Bank leaders bitterly condemned the Egyptian-Israeli treaty, saying that Egyptian President Anwar Sadat has betrayed them.