Begin Refuses to Cross
TV Picket Linfx in NY
Potpourri:
Menahem Begin
Confronts
the Challengers
The Puzzle of
Indians Cavorting
With the Arabs
Begin greeted pickking technicians who have been on
strike for several weeks and told them he would not cross
their line. He promised disappointed ABC officials that he
would grant the network an interview when he returned to
Israel.
THE JEWISH NE
A Weekly Review
Commentary, Page 2
VOL. LXXI, No. 21
Menahem Begin-was the victor in the May 17 Israel elec-
tion over the Labor Alignment, yet he followed a strictly
principled labor line in New York on Sunday when he re-
fused to cross a picket line to be interviewed on the ABC
television network.
of Jewish Events
17515 W. Nine Mile, Suite 865, Southfield, Mich. 48075 424-8833
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The Yiddish
Theater's
Historic Cast
of Characters
Review of Jacob
Adler Story by
Dr. Peter Martin
On Page 56
July 29,1977
Amidst Other Confusing Reports:
Begin Standing Firm in New Rift
With the • U. IS Over 3 Settlements
Is the Handshake Wavering?
. They were all smiles when Menahem Begin took over the prime min-
istership from Yitzhak Rabin. Now the smiles are vanishing and the hand-
shake is loosening. The battle of the parties, the triumphant and the van-
quished, is in evidence in full force.
Details in story on Page 43.
Tohnstown Jews
egin Clean-up
l
NEW YORK (JTA)—Approximately one-
third of the 550 Jewish residents in Flood-
ravaged Johnstown, Pa. have either been
displaced from their homes or had their
businesses damaged, said Jim Young, assist-
ant director of the Council of Jewish Feder-
ations of Welfare Funds after spending two
days assessing the floods effect on the Jew-
ish community. Fortunately. Young said. no
Jewish lives were lost.
The death toll has risen to 64. with up to
100 people still missing, as a result of last
week's savage flooding of the Conemaugh
River Valley. Gov . Milton Shapp estimated
total damage in the area at $200 million.
(Continued on Page 14)
TEL AVIV (JTA)—Israeli Prime Minister Men-ahem Begin told the Knesset on Wednes-
day that the United States had requested that Israel discontinue settlements on the West
Bank and Gaza Strip, but Begin declared there was nothing to prohibit any,Jew from
settling anywhere in those administered territories.
He argued that his goverment's decision on Tuesday legallized three existing civilian
settlements. Begin stated that the previous (Labor) government would not grant legal
recognition to such settlement's but that his government would continue to do so.
Begin expressed regret over the statement and reaction of the U.S. State Depart-
ment, saying the decision was not in contradiction to the Geneva Convention of 1949.
The area in question can not be regarded as a conquered territory as Jordanians have
no rights there, Begin said.
Begin expressed "deep regret" and "deep disappointment" at the rebuke by Secretary
of State Cyrus Vance for the action. He rejected Vance's charge that Israel had acted in
violation of international law and the Geneva Convention governing occupied territories.
Begin asserted that the Judaea and Samaria regions were neither occupied nor
conquered territory, that Jews had a perfect right to settle there and that the decision of
the Ministerial Settlement Committee was no more than a routine action intended to
legalize a defacto situation. "No injury or injustice will be caused to a single Arab family,"
Begin said. The Knesset ultimately supported the decision with only two dissenting
votes.
The Premier's defense of his settlement policy took up a large part of his report to the
Knesset on his recently ended mission to Washington. His remarks were followed by a
lively debate during which Labor Alignment leader Shimon Peres sharply criticzed the
government's lack of flexibility. He warned that by refursing to contemplate any
compromise on the West Bank, the quest for a full peace settlement with the Arabs was
probably doomed to failue. He suggested that the government seek further interim
agreements with individual Arab states instead.
Peres also took issue with Begin's failure to brief the Knesset's Foreign Affairs and
Security Committee before appearing before the plenum—a deviation from.the regular
practice preceding a report to the Knesset. He charged that after only 36 days in office,
the new government was behaving in a "capricious" manner toward parliament and its
duly constituted committees. Begin and other Likud members angrily denied the
charge.
But it was apparent that Begin still holds the Foreign Affairs and Security Committee
responible for "leaking" portions of his "peace plan" to the press before it was presented
to President Carter.
The Premier sought to justify and rationalize the grant of legal status to the three West
Bank settlements which had been established in defiance of the previous Labor-led
government. The settlements are Ofra; Maale Ad umim and Elon Moreh, the latter near
(Continued on Page 5)
JDC Parent-Child Program Aids Israel Settlers
TAANACH, Israel—Although the cotton-and-peanut-growing
farmers in this fertile valley (almost all of whom came from Mo-
rocco) have been tilling their fields since they settled here in the
mid-1950s, day care programs were set up only recently. There
are now three such programs sponsored by the regional Commu-
nity Center of Taanach, catering to some 600 families. These in-
clude eleven moshavim (smallholders' settlements) which are
spread over some 15 miles, and are served by the community
center in the area. The Parent-Child Programs for Infants and
Toddlers are supported by the American Jewish Joint Distribu-
tion Committee in Israel (JDC) with funds from Jewish feder-
ations and welfare funds through the United Jewish Appeal.
"It was a real fight at the beginning," confides Ilana. director
of the program. "I had to go into the houses and spend hours
convincing the parents to send their children to the Parent-Child
Day Care Program. Only six children were brought to the center
by parents who did not have to be coaxed. That means that 90
(Continued on Page 8)
Abba gets a happy hug while dropping off his daughter at the
day care center before beginning a day of work in the fields and
guard duty.