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62 Friday, November 11, 1977 THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS
Begin Affirms U.S.-Israel Ties Good Despite Carter 'Mistakes'
NEW YORK (JTA) —
Israeli Premier Menahem
Begin vigorously denied
that Israel and the United
States "are on a collision
course" and said, in an
American television inter-
view boradcast nationwide
Sunday that he believes
President Carter's profes-
sions of frienship for Israel
even though Carter "Some-
times... makes statement
which we cannot agree
with.'
The interview with Mike
Wallace, taped in Jerusa-
lem for the CBS Television
Network "60 Minutes" pro-
gram, was Begin's first
appearance on National
American television since
his visit to the U.S. last
July. He reiterated Israel's
unqualified opposition to
PLO representation at a
reconvened Geneva peace
conference and insisted that
"The Soviet Union is not a
peaceful factor in this part
of the world" (the Middle
East), adding, "Everybody
should know that."
Begin insisted that Jewish
settlements on the West
Bank were not illegal, but
he refused to endorse or
reject Agriculture Minister
Ariel Sharon's recently
stated plans for two million
Jewish settlers in that
territory.
He also denied that he
ever said the Palestinians
have no rights to a home-
land or independent state.
He claimed that the Palesti-
nians "have their home-
land" now "and they live as
free men wherever they live
in this country."
The interview opened with
questions on the troubled
relations between Israel and
the Carter Administration.
Wallace noted that Presi-
dent Carter "is the first
American President" to
speak about a Palestinian
homeland and the legiti-
mate rights of the
Palestinians.
Begin replied: "Some-
times President Carter
makes statements which we
cannot agree with. On the
other hand, I cannot forget
that President Carter
makes, also, very friendly
statements about Israel.
For instance, such a state-
ment, he would prefer to
commit political suicide
rather than to hurt Israel or
Israel's security. I never
remember another Presi-
dent having made such a
statement."
Asked by Wallace, "Do
you believe him," Begin
said, "I surely believe him.
I think I will go on believing
the President. I believe he's
a man of good will." -
With respect to the PLO,
Begin said "Everybody
knows in the United States
and elsewhere that we shall
not accept any representa-
tion by the so-called PLO,
either members of the PLO
or nominees of the PLO or
representatives of the PLO"
at Geneva.
He said, however, that the
elected mayors of West
Bank towns such as Hebron,
Nablus, Jericho, Ramallah
would be acceptable, "if
they come as elected
mayors representing local
people. But if they say, as
they do, that PLO is the
only representative of the
Palestinians and they will
go to Geneva only by the
agreement of the PLO, then
they won't be acceptable...
We oppose the so-called
PLO and will not accept the
concept of a so-called Pales-
tinian state."
Wallace asked, "Then
you're saying that the
Palestinians have no rights
to 'a homeland', an inde-
pendent state?" Begin
replied, "I never said so,
Mr. Wallace... They have
their homeland. They live
now in their homeland.
Asked "Why is Israel so
close to South Africa?"
Begin replied: "As far as
we are concerned South
Africa wants to be friends
with Israel. We are anti-rac-
ist. And we told this time
and again to South Africa
and the whole world. But if
they come and say they
want to stretch out their
hand, we are surrounded by
enemies on all sides, we
have very few friends,
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we're not going to reject
any hand stretched out to
us."
Asked if Israel will abide
by the arms embargo
against South Africa voted
by the UN, Begin replied, "I
don't say we are shipping
arms now. Whenever a deci-
sion is taken we shall con-
sider it...If I say Israel will
consider the decision you
have to draw your own con- ,
elusions." Asked how much
enriched uranium for
nuclear weapons comes
from South Africa, Begin
said "I don't know anything
about nuclear weapons...
My profession, I am a law-
yer. I have no idea about
nuclear weapons."
Begin denied a recent
Washington Post story
claiming that senior Israeli
defense officials are pre-
paring for "a war of annihi-
lation" against the Syrian
and Egyptian armies. Begin
replied that "The best proof
that this is an invented story
is the use of the word anni-
hilation. We have never
used such a word and will
never use it."
Five-Year Wait Over for Chertins,
Noted Soviet Jewish Activists
NEW YORK (JTA)—A
five-year wait for exit visas
has ended for Aleksander
and Oksana Chertin of
Leningrad, who were told
that they had received per-
mission to emigrate to
Israel, along with their son,
according to the National
Conference on Soviet Jewry.
The Chertins, well-known
activists in the Leningrad
community, first applied to
leave in March, 1972.
Meanwhile, with white
robes, black candles, and a
large menora, members of
Temporary Pact
Between Israel,
Neighbors Due?
JERUSALEM (JTA) — A
possible shift in Israel's
position regarding peace
talks with the Arabs was
indicated by Foreign Min-
ister Moshe Dayan Tuesday
when he told the Likud
Knesset faction that Israel
was willing to negotiate a
temporary agreement with
its neighbors if an overall
settlement is unattainable
at this time.
Dayan made the ' same
statement a day earlier at a
meeting with the National
Religious Party (NRP)
Knesset faction. However,
he. added, "He who does not
give full peace will not
receive full compensation."
The foreign minister
maintained 'that it was
within the power of the
United States to exert eco-
nomic pressure on Egypt to
sign a peace treaty with
Israel.
He also said that Israel
,never asked for American
guarantees of a peace set-
tlement, but that the matter
was raised by Washington.
Dayan reiterated that
Israel will accept no alter-
native to the joint U.S.-
Israel working paper on
Geneva procedures. He spe-
cifically rejected a proposal
by Egyptian President
Anwar Sadat for the crea-
tion of an Arab-Israeli work-
ing group to lay the ground-
work for the Geneva -
conference. Sadat's sugges-
tion was rejected by the
cabinet at its meeting
Sunday.
Dayan said he expected
an official reply from the
Arabs on the U.S.-Israel
working paper within two
weeks.
the Student Struggle for
Soviet Jewry last week
staged an "exorcism" of the
"dybbuk of anti-Semitism
which is possessing the body
politic of the Kremlin" at
Aeroflot Russian Airlines'
Fifth Avenue office.
In Jerusalem, it was
reported that Alexander Sle-
pak, the oldest son of Rus-
sia's leading Jewish activ-
ist, Vladimir Slepak of
Moscow, said he intends to
go abroad almost immedi-
ately to campaign for the
release of his family which
has been refused emigration
for the past eight years.
In New York, in what the
SSSJ and Union of Councils
termed "another turn of the
screw in the current anti-
Jewish campaign," a Mos-
cow Jew has been arrested
as a "parasite" two weeks
after being dismissed from
work.
According to the groups,
25-year-old engineer Valery
Sorin was jailed Nov. 1 for
"parasitism," that is, not
having a job. On Sept. 15 he
had suddenly been fired
from his position as a secre-
tary to a writer, told he
"was no longer needed." He
was originally refused a
visa in 1972, then fired from
his job, drafted for two
years, then again refused
exit in July 1976.
Sorin spent the first three
days of his arrest in a police
station, then was trans-
ferred to a prison. Soviet
officials have recently told
Jews the "parasitism"
regulations have been
changed to give an unem-
ployed person fewer warn-
ings and less time in which
to find a job before facing
penalties.
Meanwhile, Natalia
Khmelnitskaya has joined
the small but growing band
of Soviet Jews whose exit
visas have been withdrawn
just prior to leaving, mak-
ing them stateless.
She had received her
documents on Sept. 15 for
an Oct. 10 departure. How-
ever, the two Soviet Jewry
groups reported that ovir,
the emigration office, told
her the last minute that her
visa had been withdrawn
due to the objections of her
brother.
In a related development,
a Cabinet-level officer and
department to monitor vio-
lations of human rights at
home and abroad .was advo-
cated by the Executive
Board of The Workmen's
Circle.
In a message to President
Carter, Bernard Backer,
WC president, recom-
mended that "a Secretary
for Human Rights be estab-
lished within the Cabinet to
draw up and administer a
program that will place our
country in the forefront of
the timeless struggle for the
rights of man, and when a
violation occurs in our own
nation or in another that it
be spotlighted and Cabinet-
level action be taken."
The SSSJ angounced,
meanwhile, that Otters in
Russian and English on
Jewish topics for Soviet
Jewish families is available
free from the SSSJ at 200 W.
72nd St., Suites 30-31, New
York, N.Y. 10023.
Under a handlettered sign in Hebrew, "Blessed is He Who
keeps His promise to Israel," Leningrad activists Arkady
and Lina Rabinov, Georgy, Carl and Yeva Greenberg
gather to share precious information on Jewish life and cus-
toms, in a photo obtained by the Student Struggle for Soviet
Jewry. Brave Jews duplicate these "seminars" in several
Russian cities.