.7"
Realistic
Wilsonian
Theories Reviewed:
Covenants
Under Scrutiny
Without Resort
to Public Fanfare
THE JEWISH NEWS
Commentary, Page 2
of Jewish Events
A Weekly Review
Formulas for
Politicians
Necessity for
Homework
When Tackling
Foreign Issues
Editorial, Page 4
VOL. LXXIII, No. 24 17515 W. Nine Mile, Suite 865, Southfield, Mich. 48075 424-8833 $12.00 Per Year: This Issue 30. August 18, 1978
Story of 'Altalena'
Revives Interest in
B-G Begin Clash
Editor's Note: The Altalena incident has become an
inerasable chapter in the history of Israel's rebirth.
It is the name of the
boat that was purch-
ased by the American
League for a Free
Palestine, in the cru-
cial years before
Palestine's partition
and the rebirth of Is-
rael. It was loaded
with ammunition
shipped to pre-Israel
Palestine for the arm-
ing of the Irgun, the
Revisionist Zionist
party that was vigor-
ously opposed by
David Ben-Gurion
and the dominant
Jewish political force
in Zionist ranks. The
YITZFIAK BEN-AMI
story of the Altalena
and the suspicion of it is described in what could be
called an official interpretation of what had occurred
in the biography of Ben-Gurion by Robert St. John. It
relates how the first Israeli prime minister suspected
the Irgun munitions shipment as being aimed at tak-
ing over the emerging new government of Israel.
'A lengthy account of the Altalena episode and
the Irgun involvement also appears in "Terror Out of
Zion: The Shock Troops of Israeli Independence," by
J. Bowyer Bell, which has just been reissued as a
paperback by Avon Books.
Ben-Gurion's ordering the ship sunk, which
many described as brothers shooting brothers,
is portrayed by St. John as a brilliant move by
Ben-Gurion to protect the hegemony of the new
and reborn Jewish state.
It was also judged as a possible coup by the Begin
partisans in the book "0 Jerusalem," written by
Larry Collins and Dominique Lapierre.
The 30th anniversary of the sinking of the Irgun
munitions-carrying ship the Altalena, a full account
of which is given here for the first time by one of the
Irgun leaders, Yitzhak Ben-Ami, who traveled on the
ship with Menahem Begin, clarifies the issue for the
first time.
At the observance of the 30th anniversary of the
sinking of the boat, at a rally of survivors of that
incident in Jabotinsky Hall in Tel Aviv, on June 24,
1978, Menahem Begin, who was especially selected
for accusation in the Altalena affair, commented to
the effect that "we had waited these centuries for the
rebirth of the Jewish state, why would we want to
seek its destruction at birth in quest for power?"
(Continued on Page 5)
Onlookers watch with sadness as the Attain=
burns.
Begin in Status Quo
Attitude for Summit
Israel will take no new peace plan to Camp David, Premier Menahem Begin said
JERUSALEM (JTA)
Tuesday, following a meeting with members of the Knesset Security and Foreign Affairs Committee in his office.
Begin said the present plan was "good" and this is the plan that would be brought to Camp David. However,
Begin added, a team of experts was now preparing possible Israeli replies to the various questions and proposals
likely to come up during the Camp David summit.
In Washington three leading members of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee said they expected
"positive" and "concrete" results would emanate from the Middle East summit at Camp David next month.
—
Sens. Frank Church (D-Idaho), Richard Stone (D-Fla.), and Charles Percy (R-Ill.) commented to
reporters after hearing Secretary of State Cyrus Vance describe his recent discussions with Israeli
Premier Begin and Egyptian President Anwar Sadat.
At the same time, the forthcoming trilateral Mideast summit conference took on a new coloration last Friday.
Saudi Arabia, in a turnabout of its opposition to Egyptian-Israeli negotiations, has now publicly endorsed the
meeting at Camp David which begins Sept. 5, and President Carter, in a newspaper report that the White House
did not deny, was personally quoted as having said he called the
summit because he feared another Arab-initiated war against Israel.
Although the Carter Administration sought to put the conference
details under cloak of secrecy and urged quiet by all parties as intense
diplomatic and security preparations were rushed, the State De-
WASHINGTON (JTA) — The House of
partment warmly welcomed the Saudi endorsement of the summit
Representatives Monday approved a re-
that also carried continuing Saudi criticism of Israeli "intransi-
cord foreign aid money bill of $7.17 bill-
gence."
ion and sent it to the Senate with funding
Presidential News Secretary Jody Powell said the President's
intact for Israel and Egypt and nothing
summit invitation to Egyptian President Sadat and Israeli Premier
for Syria.
Begin
was "not based on any particular event" and would make "no
Funds were approved for Lebanon and
comment" on Egypt's reported military buildup that presumably led
Jordan, but they face slight cuts under an
to the summit. Powell said the President's initiative resulted from "a
amendment reducing military aid except
for Israel. The appropriations legislation
very careful analysis of the situation."
adopted by a vote of 223 to 167 reduced by
Meanwhile, in a rare case of inter-party cooperation, Foreign
U.S. Israel Aid
Remains Intact
more than a billion dollars the total
wanted by President Carter, who had
asked for $8.4 billion.
The House specifically exempted Israel
from reductions in the military and
supporting assistance
economic
categories and Egypt was exempted from
a cut in economic aid as was Jordan.
Under the bill, Israel is to get $1 billion in
military aid and $785 million in economic
(Continued on Page 10)
Minister Moshe Dayan recently initiated discussions with lead-
ing Labor Party Knesset members Yitzhak Rabin and Abba
Eban over anticipated developments at the upcoming Camp
David talks between Israeli Premier Begin, Egyptian Presi-
dent Sadat and President Carter.
The sessions are apparently directed at ensuring the Labor Align-
ment's support for the government's position on the summit confer-
ence which is that it will be an arena for the leadership and top
(Continued on Page )
Chronicled Altalena Story Exonerates Begin
stroyed at Tel Aviv by the
newly formed army of the
state of Israel. Seventeen of
its men were killed, both at
Kfar Vitkin and Tel Aviv.
The weapons that it car-
ried were destroyed (except
for a small quantity of light
weapons, unloaded on the
beach at Kfar Vitkin on
June 21).
What happened in bet-
ween?
From the moment we
sailed from France, till five
days later, we were not able
have undoubtedly affected to receive any messages
the future borders of the from the transmitters in
state and the fate of France or in Israel. They
were to be our guiding
Jerusalem.
beacons and source of in-
On June 22, 1948 the Al- struction and information.
For information we
talena was bombarded from
(Continued on Page 5)
the shore, burned and de-
By YrTZHAII BEN-AMI
The Altalena had on
board 820 men and 120 wo-
men, mostly members of the
European units of the Ir-
gun, as well as volunteers
from a dozen countries. It
carried over 5,000 rifles,
500 machine guns and sub-
machine guns, five armored
carriers, aerial bombs and
millions of rounds of am-
munition. These supplies, if
they would have reached
the soldiers of the newly-
formed Israeli army, would
Catalog of Activities Fall 1978'
at the Jewish Community Center
MENAHEM BEGIN
DAVID BEN-GURION
Complete schedule of programming
listed in special 8-page
pull-out section,
between pages 29 and 36 in this issue.