Israel is not Taiwan, Premier Menachem Begin commented briefly when asked by foreign correspondents in Jerusalem to draw the conclusions of the present crisis in the Taiwan-U.S. relations. Begin refused to go into a deeper analysis of the issue, but his brief comment was noted as quite different from the early reactions by a number of Cabinet insisters. Those ministers were quoted as saying that Israel should learn from the Taiwan experience the value of American international commitments.
Begin spoke last Thursday at a luncheon in honor by the Foreign Press Association. He devoted most of his speech to the resumption of terror attacks from Lebanon. He said the air raids on terror bases in that country have proved effective in preventing a number of terror acts. Begin added: “We shall not let those who spill Jewish blood go with out punishment. Therefore, the air force raids also have a moral aspect.”
He was referring to the air force strike last Wednesday against terrorist bases in south Lebanon in retaliation for a rash of terrorist bombings in Israel during the last six weeks in which five people were killed and 76 injured. The latest terrorist attack occurred last Tuesday in Jerusalem and last Thursday in Kiryat Shemona.
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.
