Eshkol Gets Confidence Vote

Pre-Election Campaign Charge
Linked to 'Military Mistakes'

(Direct JTA Teletype Wire to The Jewish News)

TEL AVIV
Israeli voters, in an apparent rejection
Tuesday of former Premier David Ben-Gurion's challenge to
his protege, Premier Levi Eshkol, gave the premier's Mapai
Party and its Ahdut Avodah alignment partner a slight edge
over the votes the two parties obtained separately in elections
to the fifth Knesset.
When two-thirds of the rec- with about the same total of seats.
ord vote had been counted, A third was a broad coalition
it was obvious that Eshkol's which would include both the re-
alignment bloc had won a ligious parties and Rafi for a total
mandate for leadership for a of 70 seats. Finally, a fourth pos-
was listed as a broad
new government, receiving sibility
coalition with Mapam instead of
35.7 per cent of the vote. The Rafi or instead of the religious
two parties separately won 34 parties with the same parliament-
per cent for the fifth Knesset. ary strength.
Ben-Gurion's dissident Israel.
Israelis noted with satisfaction
Workers List (Rafi) won 8.3 that parties appealing to ethnic
per cent of the vote, well un- or country-of-origin sentiments had
failed to prove attractive to the
der pre-election forecasts.

his own list, had won enough votes
to be elected.
Israelis went to the polls in an
atmosphere of tranquility with 20,-
000 volunteer drivers organized by
the political parties to bring their
supporters to the polling stations.
The voting continued till mid-
night in the cities and till 9 o'clock
in the evening in the villages. The
beautiful weather contributed to
high participation in the voting.
Voting at the 3,100 polling sta-
tions throughout the country be-
gan at 7 o'clock in the morning.
The 17 political groups which
named candidates for Parliament
mobilized about 150,000 volunteers
and paid workers as their repre-
sentatives watching the polling
stations and getting out the voters
to cast ballots.
All work in the cities ceased for
the day with only restaurants and
moving picture houses functioning,
and buses running on regular sche-
dule.
President Zalman Shazar and
Premier Eshkol were among the
early voters in Jerusalem. Naturei
Karta zealots sought to prevent

Full official returns were not voters. A minor surprise was that
to be available before today. 1 the editor of the sensational maga-
Premier Eshkol expressed thanks zine Haolam Hazeh, who formed
to the nation "for the confidence
expressed in us. The alignment Troops Clash on B orders of Jordan,
will continue as the backbone of
the government. The results show Lebanon; Cabinet Confers on Raids
that the nation objects to splits."
JERUSALEM (JTA) — Israel's two Israeli tractor drivers were
Shimon Peres, who resigned as
deputy defense minister to take a cabinet discussed at its weekly wounded.)
The latest El Fatah action, re-
leading role in the Rafi challenge, meeting the various incidents of
said only that Rafi regarded the violent clashes that broke out on sulting in the destruction of the
results "as the beginning of the C Israel's Jordanian and Lebanese pumping station near Rosh Haayin,
was the first in the Jordan border
way in which we will have to make frontiers last weekend.
great efforts."
Even as Gen. Yitzhak Rabin, area in four weeks. There were
The right-wing Herut, which
chief of staff of Israel's defense no casualties as a result of the
joined with some liberals to form
forces, was reporting to the cabi- explosion. A month ago, after a
the Gahal block for the election,
net on a recent clash with Jor- spate of such raids into Israeli
were not showing the results
danian troops in the Latrun area, settlements, evidently originating
that had been anticipated. Run-
a new, two-hour shooting match from Jordanian bases, Israel warn-
ning separately for the f if t h between the Jordanians and Is- ed openly that such attacks would
raelis erupted in the same sector. no longer be tolerated.
Knesset, Herut and the Liberals
Following Israel's warning, Jor-
collected together 23 per cent of
Other recent incidents included:
the vote; now they garnered 18.'7
A raid by El Fatah terrorists dan's King Hussein stated publicly
per cent for Gahal and 5 per
who blew LID a pumping station that his government disassociates
cent for Independent Liberals.
near the Israeli settlement of Rosh itself from sabotage activity that
The three religious parties—Miz- Haayin, about three miles from "might harm the Jordanian na-
rachi Hapoel Hamizrachi, Agudat the Jordanian border; a three-hour tion."
The action on the Lebanese
Israel and Poale Agudat Israel— battle between Israelis and Jor-
slipped s 1 i g h t 1 y in compari- danians in the no-man's-land of border, the first such Israeli
military blow against Lebanon
son with the fifth Knesset votin g- the Latrun bulge, in the Judean
since the conclusion of the
15 per cent this year compared hills half-way between Jerusalem
Israel-Lebanon armistice agree-
with 15.5 per cent previously. and Tel Aviv; and an Israeli mili-
Mapam was running about the tart' action against two Lebanese ment in 1949, was in reprisal for
El Fatah raids into Israel.
same as in the previous general villages, in retaliation for three
The Israel troops crossed the
election, 7.4 per cent compared recent El Fatah incursions against
border,
entering the village of
with 7.5 per cent. Israel.
Chule and destroying the home of
The battle in the Latrun area
The split Communist Party re-
the local chief after waking its
corded precisely the same vote to- started when 30 Israeli tractors
residents and escorting them out
moved into that budge to plow
gether as the unified party had
of the building. They also wrecked
for the fifth Knesset election. The the land in no-man's land, while
three reservoirs near Mis El
J o r d a n i a n tractors started
unified party had 4 per cent. The
Jamal.

Toubi Arab-Communist faction col- ploughing at the same time in
lected 3.2 per cent. The moderate the opposite direction.
When Jordanian troops started
Sneh faction won .9 per cent.

The pro-alignment Arab block shooting at the Israelis, Israeli
received 1.7 per cent of the vote, soldiers posted as guards returned
which will go to Premier Eshkol's the fire. The fighting lasted three
political assets. Haolam Hazeh, hours before military observers
running for the first time, won 1 from the UN Truce Supervision
per cent. Organization got Jordan to accept
a full cease fire.
New alignments apparently

Israel said two of the Israeli
were unlikely to be any more
successful in municipal elections soldiers were wounded. The Jor-
than for the Knesset. The Ma- danian radio, which reported that
pai-Ahdut Avodah had 38 per following the exchange the area
cent and Gahal had 34.5 per was visited by King Hussein and
Prime Minister Wasfi Tal, claimed
cent in Tel Aviv, making it like-
ly that Mordechai Namir would that 15 Israeli soldiers were killed
continue as mayor. and 15 Israeli t r a c t o r s were

In Haifa, the alignment vote of knocked out. Israel denied there
46 per cent and the Gahal vote of were any fatalities on the Israeli
20 per cent virtually assured the side.
Later, the Israeli tractors re-
continuation in office of Mayor
sumed their work in the Latrun
Abba Khoushi.
In Jerusalem, the alignment budge. While the area is techni-
garnered 25 per cent to Gahal's cally a no-man's land, Israel has
20 per cent, making Mordechai Ish been cultivating the land there
Shalom's retention of the mayor- since 1948. As the work proceed-
ed, the Jordanians started shooting
alty likely.
Observers promptly began cal- again. The Israeli military guards
culating the mathematics of a new returned the fire and the UN mili-
coalition with four alternatives tary observers tried immediately
emerging. One would be a narrow to arrange a cease-fire.
Jordan refused at first to halt
coalition of the Mapai-Ahdut
alignment plus the Independent its firing. Finally after the ex-
Liberals, the National Religious changes lasted two hours, UN men
Party and Arab supporters of succeeded in getting Jordan's con-
Mapai, which would total a 23-seat sent to halt.
(In Washington, Israeli diplo-
majority in the 120-seat Knesset.
A second possibility would be a mats relayed details of the Jor-
similar narrow coalition, but with danian army attack in the Latrun
Rafi replacing the religious bloc area in a report to the State De-
partment. The Israelis reported
that the Jordanian regular forces
THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS
( fired with heavy weapons and that
40 Friday, November 5, 1965

—

There were no Israeli casualties,
and apparently none among the
Lebanese. The Israeli troops were
under strict orders to refrain from
actions causing casualties among
the population of the villages.
The reprisal raid against Leba-
non was criticized by the Israel
press as at least partly a domestic
political move by the Eshkol gov-
ernment on the eve of Tuesday's
general elections to be held in
Israel. (See story.) Critics pointed
out that Lebanon has been the
most peaceful of Israel's Arab
neighbors, and that the Beirut gov-
ernment apologized publicly for
the last El Fatah raid into Israel.
* * *

local inhabitants from participat-
ing in the voting and tried in vain
to block polling places.
Several hundred demonstrators
in Mea Shearim claimed the elec-
tion was "treason" to true Jewish
beliefs and against the teaching of
the Torah. They were dispersed
by police units. No violence oc-
curred.
Two hours before the polling
station closed, about 80 per cent
of the 1,500,000 eligible voters had
cast their ballots. It is believed
that the percentage of votes in
this election surpassed that of the
last elections in 1961 which was
81.6 per cent.
Judge Moshe Landau, the chair-
man of the Central Elections Com-
mittee, inspected during the day
the polling stations in the Arab
villages and in Army camps. No
complaints were registered.

Nationwide campaigning for
the parliamentary elections in-
creased in intensity Monday with
the publication of conflicting
versions on the responsibility for
the raid by Israeli troops in 1963
on the Jordanian village of Ky-
bia, in which more than 40
Arabs were killed.
In an installment of a book by

Ben-Gurion, published in the af-
ternoon daily Yediet Achronot, the
former premier said that he did
not know about the raid until he
heard reports from the Jordanian
Ramallah radio broadcasts.
All he knew about the raid at
the time, he said, was what acting
Defense Minister Pinhas Lavon
told him—that Israeli border set-
tlers took matters into their own
hands and carried out the raid
after a particularly vicious mur-
der.
Ben-Gurion sad that the late
Moshe Sharett, Israel's acting pre-
mier at the time of the raid, knew
of plans for the Kybia action but
"saw no reason to object to it."
Replying to the charge, Mr. Sha-
rett's son. Yaacov, published in
another afternoon daily, Maariv,
excerpts from his father's diary in
support of what he said was a
"distortion" of his father's role in
the Kybia affair.
In his diary Mr. Sharett said
that as acting premier he opposed
the retaliatory raid on Kybia but
was "overruled" by Lavon, who
told Sharett that Ben-Gurion favor-
ed the operation. "Not only had
Ben-Gurion given his opinion but
it was his opinion which weighed
the scales against me," Sharett
declared in his diary.

He also described how Ben-
Gurion prepared a statement
broadcast after the Kybia raid
in which the action was attri-

bitted to Israeli border settlers
who lost patience with the re-
peated murders from across the
border and understandably took
matters into their own hands.
"I told Zippora—my wife—that

I would have resigned rather than
stand before a microphone and
tell the people of Zion and the
whole world a fictional account of
something that happened," 21r.
Sharett declared in the diary. —
added that "Ben-Gurion
conceived this version and in-
itiated
itiated the broadcast."

Prime Minister Eshkol Monday
rejected "with disgust" criticism
voiced in the Israeli press that the
retaliation raid of an Israel mili-
tary unit into Lebanon last week-
end was timed and directed more
as a move to win more votes for
the Eshkol list in the elections,
rather than as a military neces-
sity.
(The Lebanese government apo-
logized to Israel for the attack by
infiltrators from Lebanon on an
unoccupied house in an Israeli set-
telment near the border. See story
coltunn 2.
(The apology was presented un-
officially at a meeting of the UN
Lebanese-Israel Mixed Armistice
Commission which began an in-
vestigation of the incident follow-
ing a complaint by Israel to the
commission.)
The independent morning news-
paper, Haaretz, stated that Israel
has shown much more patience
with belligerent Jordan than it
has with traditionally moderate
Lebanon, and doubted the ef-
fectiveness of the reprisal action.

The evening newspaper Maa-
riv said the government's action
against Lebanon "requires ex-
planation." Haboker, echoing the
views of the Liberal Party, fear-
ed the reprisal raid may turn
moderate Lebanon toward ex-
treme hostility. Hamodia, organ
of the Poalei Agudath Israel, de-
clared that the timing of the re-
taliatory raid "arouses suspic-
ion."

Sharp criticism was voiced against
Eshkol in the cabinet subcommit-
tee for security affairs for his fail-
ure to consult or even report on
Israel's reprisal raid against Le-
banon, Haaretz declared Tuesday
in a Page One story.
The premier in his capacity as
defense minister usually consults

colleagues in the 'subcommittee,
which normally votes approval
prior to major military actions, but
this time, the newspaper reported,
that sharp criticism of the reprisal
raid was voiced "in Israel security

circles."

U. S. State Dept. Recommends
Large-Scale Aid to Egypt

WASHINGTON (JTA) — The
State Department is submitting a
recommendation to President John-
son for resumption of large-scale
aid to Egypt, it was learned Tues-
day.
President Johnson is expected
to act favorably on the depart-
ment's request which is based on
King of Jordan Announces
an evaluation contending that the
Military Preparations to
Nasser regime has displayed more
'Liberate Palestine'
LONDON (JTA) — Jordan will peaceful and responsible tenden-
build up its military power to pre- cies.
Estimates of the proposed aid
pare for the liberation of Pales-
tine, King Hussein said Oct. 28 involve as much as a half-billion
in Amman, capital of Jordan, in a dollars in surplus commodities,
mainly food, over a three-year
speech from the throne.
He announced a program of period.
The U.S. Embassy in Cairo has
support for the Palestine Libera-
tion Organization and arming bor- stressed, according to official
der villages for defense against sources, that Egypt has halted di-
rect aid to Congolese rebels, of-
Israeli attacks or reprisals.
The king said that to achieve fered compensation for the burned
the necessary force for the libera- USIA library, and displayed a
tion of Palestine, Jordan has ac- more reasonable attitude toward
complished "a great result in rec- neighboring states.
The State Department has urged,
ord time in increasing her armed
forces in numbers, efficiency and despite Nasser's denunciation this
equipment" during the past year. week of the American role in Viet-
He said the coming months would nam, that immediate steps be taken
see still more increases in Jor- to initiate a new program favoring
Egypt.
danian military capacities.

It is the State Department's
contention that such aid would
facilitate a continued American
presence in Cairo and provide
leverage for American diplo-
macy. Another point made by the
department is that Nasser re-
cently eased some restrictions
on U.S. firms and should be
rewarded.

The amount of aid suggested has
not been specified. Official sources
said the decision President Johnson

will make in the near future is
based on the policy concept in-
volved rather than on any specific

sum. President Johnson will ap-
prove the department's recom-
mendations, according to official
sources. However, aid may be re-
sumed on reduced scale and sub-
ject to tighter terms.
The State Department is con-

cerned that haste be made because
Egyptian wheat supplies may be
exhausted by the end of the year.
Shipments under the $37,000,000
program, the remainder of the
1964-65 program, are ending.

This aid was shipped during the
summer despite strong Congres-
sional objections.

L

)