Sapir Says Report That He Was Designated Mrs. Meir’s Political Heir is Invention

Finance Minister Pinhas Sapir said today that a Time magazine report that he has been designated the political heir of Premier Golda Meir was “one big invention.” But Mr. Sapir’s denial of the accuracy of the report was less than categorical. According to Time, the selection of Sapir was made at a secret Labor Party caucus at the home of Tel Aviv’s Mayor Yehoshua Rabinovitz. Time regarded as significant the fact that the meeting was not attended by Mrs. Meir or Mr. Sapir, who was out of the country, and that Defense Minister Moshe Dayan was not invited. Gen. Dayan has been widely regarded as the popular choice to succeed Mrs. Meir. Questioned by newsmen today, Mr. Sapir said, “We have a strong Prime Minister. What is the point of talking about the end of her Premiership or about the possibility of an early retirement?” The Time story observed that Mrs. Meir’s term ends in 1973 “or when and if Mrs. Meir, now 72, decides on an early retirement.”

Mr. Sapir, 61, who was born in Poland and emigrated to Palestine in 1929, is one of the most powerful figures of the “Old Guard” Labor Party leadership and has the reputation of a “king-maker,” It was he who proposed Mrs. Meir for the Premiership following the death of Premier Levi Eshkol two years ago. According to Time, Mrs. Meir was “gratified” when she learned that her Party leadership had chosen Mr. Sapir to succeed her. Relations between Mrs. Meir and her outspoken Defense Minister are reportedly strained. But most public opinion polls here have put Gen. Dayan ahead of Mrs. Meir and other political leaders as the popular choice for the Premiership. Gen. Dayan enjoys an advantage, especially among younger elements, in that he is a native-born Israeli and is under 60. Mrs. Meir and her three predecessors were all of Eastern European origin and past 60 when they took office.