Premier Menachem Begin will be discharged from Hadassah Hospital tomorrow, exactly two weeks since he was admitted after suffering a mild heart attack. His doctor has ordered him to rest of home for some time before resuming his regular duties.
However, Begin appeared energetic and anxious to get back into the political fray. He issued a statement from his bedside blasting Britain’s Foreign Secretary Lord Carrington for having suggested, in an Israeli television interview screened here last night, that Begin refrain from moving his office to East Jerusalem.
The statement, which Begin dictated personally for release by the Prime Minister’s Office, declared that it was none of Carrington’s business to advise Israel’s Prime Minister where to locate, his office. He offered the scornful observation that when King David moved his capital from Hebron to Jerusalem, “the civilized world hadn’t heard of the city of London.”
Carrington also irritated Begin by his remark in the interview that Israel would eventually have to talk to the Palestine Liberation Organization because “They are there and they won’t go away.” Last week, Carrington charged in a speech to the House of Lords that Israel is conducting a “damaging policy.” by planting settlements on the West Bank.
Begin also had a telephone call from President Anwar Sadat in Alexandria. The Egyptian leader inquired about his health and wished him well on his discharge from the hospital. Their telephone conversation was described as a “very friendly call.” Begin extended good wishes to Sadat on the occasion of the Moslem holiday of Ramadan which began today. Apparently their exchange was limited to personal matters and political issues were not discussed.
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.
