III ■ irimmaimmempeniimmumummummi 56 Friday, April 13, 1919 THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS Menahem Begin Portrayed as Genius of Current Israel Diplomacy in Frank Gervasi's Biography Menahem Begin is the hero of the hour in Israel's diplomatic relations. He is the genius who shared in the writing of a peace treaty with Egypt. He had a stormy career, as a rebel in the turbulent years of Jewish struggles against oppressions, as a survivor of Nazism, as the man who in- sists on the world's not forgetting the Holocaust and Jewry's never permit- ting its repetition. Begin's life is a story unmatched in the life of a revolutionary who rose to the leadership of his people, the love for whom also is unmatched. 411 MENAHEM BEGIN It is the good fortune of the generation he is lead- ing, the people who both admire and resent him, de- , pending upon the party of success under his leader- , ship and those he defeated in a democratic Israeli elec- tion, that a noted author and correspondent for im- portant media should have written this story. It is also noteworthy that he is a non-Jew, not an Is- raeli, that has written the new biography of Israel's prime minister. Frank Gervasi, author of "The Life and Times of Menahem Begin: Rebel to Statesman" (G.P. Put- nam's Sons) could be said to have known Begin in- timately for more than 40 years. He studied Begin's career from the earliest years of Begin's settle- ment in pre-Israel Pales- tine after Begin's escape from a Russian detention camp through the last few months, when Ger- vasi interviewed Begin in Israel, in New York after the Camp David experi- ence, prior to peace mak- ing. The confidence of the Is- raeli leader in his nation's democratic policies is found in an interesting note in this biography. Gervasi interviewed Begin after the Camp David negotiations in his suite at the Regency Hotel in New York and Begin said: "I hope I will still be Prime Minister when your book is pub- lished!" The fact that Gervasi views his latest book as a "bio-history" adds signifi- cance to the Begin story. This book is more than a biography of Israel's prime minister. It is also a history of Israel in this historic year. Gervasi gives a thorough outline of the negotiations that have led to the Egyptian-Israeli ac- cord under the direction of President Carter. Thus, the Begin story is a concise history of Israel by the noted author who has to his credit two important books on Israel and Zionism, "For Whom Pales- tine" (1946) and "The Case for Israel" (1967). Gervasi has been a leading international re- porter for more than 30 years and a student of Is- raeli affairs since he first covered the region for Collier's Weekly in the 1940s. He served as chief of Hearst's International News Service in Rome from 1935 to 1939; associ- ate editor of Collier's Weekly during World War H when he covered many fronts for that magazine; and chief of in- formation for the Mar- shall Plan from 1950 to 1952. During the 1950s, Ger- vasi wrote a syndicated col- umn called "Dateline: Your World." He is author of biographies of Nelson Roc- kefeller and Adolf Hitler. A frequent visitor to Israel, Gervasi was in Jerusalem for President Sadat's his- toric visit in November 1977, Internal conflicts in which Begin was involved are given due consideration in this biography by Ger- vasi. He relates the ideolog- ical differences between Menahem Begin and David Ben-Gurion, yet he indi- cates that there was a simi- larity in the two noted lead- ers. To quote Gervasi: Ben-Gurion, "Like Menahem Begin is autocra- tic, patriarchal and, some Israelis believe, fully as `charismatic.' Many who saw in Ben-Gurion 'the greatest Jewish leader since Moses' perceive in Begin the same qualities of firm lead- ership, eloquence, and per- sonal magnetism, the be- arer of a Messianic aura rare in the politics of mod- ern Israel. "Although on a personal level Begin is easier to talk to, more relaxed and affable where Ben-Gurion was tense and taciturn, his polit- ical behavior is every bit as authoritative, maybe even more so. There are no gray eminences around Begin as there were around Ben- Gurion, who in 1964 with- drew to his kibutz at Sde Boker in his beloved Negev, where he died in 1973 at the age of 87." Strict in his Sabbath observance, Begin wins the respect of his associ- ates, of diplomats and foreign emissaries of all faiths for his consistency. Writes Gervasi: "Unlike Ben-Gurion, a - FRANK GERVASI secular socialist who couldn't remember when he was last inside a synagogue, Begin is an observant though not strictly Or- thodox Jew. He scrupul- ously respects Judaism's dietary laws, wears a yar- mulka while reading the Bible — as he often does in the Knesset when inter- rupting a speech to quote from The Book — and ob- serves all Jewish rites and traditions, particularly the sanctity of the Sabbath." In another matter, the prime minister's devotion to family, has an interesting reference in Gervasi's biog- raphy. It relates: "Begin and his wife Aliza — they've been married 39 years — devote their Friday nights entirely to their fam- ily. Its members include their married children, Ben- jamin and Hassia and their respective spouses, an un- married daughter, Leah, and a gaggle of grandchildren. Unless the prime minister is abroad on a mission, all gather at the Begin's home in leafy, resi- dential Rehavia for the tra- ditional Shabat dinner. Perhaps the most dis- tressing of all the inci- dents in the life of Menahem Begin was the accusation by the new government of Israel, shortly after the declara- tion of independence, that Begin was planning a putsch to take control of the new state under the aegis of the Irgun. The Altalena case brought about that charge. Some 900 men and 4,000 tons of ammunition were on the ship which was pur- chased by Irgun supporters. Begin and his associates in- tended to use the men and munitions for the new na- tion's defense and for the battle of Jerusalem. Orders from Ben-Gurion not only prevented the men and the arms from reaching their intended aim but the ship was attacked, there was a brief civil war with a number of casualties in Be- gin's ranks as well as in the ranks of the attackers, who acted on orders from Ben- Gurion and Moshe Shertok (Sharett). Begin and the Irgun con- sistently denied that they had any other aim than the acquisition of Jerusalem and Israel's defense. The re- cord thus far dictated by the claims of the Ben-Gurion government accuse Irgun of evil intentions. Gervasi is among those who defend Begin. The Begin biography contains a lengthy ac- count of the Altalena tragedy and the present prime minister of Israel and his party emerge in glorious light as patriots, while the Ben-Gurion forces stand accused of guilt in the Altalena case. As a matter of fact, much of the guilt for misrep- resentation in the case is placed on Sharett whose role in the Altalena events are branded by Gervasi as "hypocriti- cal." Gervasi pays many com- pliments to Begin and the most impressive asserts: "Menahem Begin may be frail-looking physically, but as an intellectual and as a politician he is undoubtedly the toughest leader Israel has known since the late David Ben-Gurion . ." Gervasi's is a timely work. It is also revealing historically and fascinating in its appreciation of the subject depicted. Its ap- pearance at this time is Desecration' Hit JERUSALEM — Hun- dreds of ultra-Orthodox residents of the Mea Shearim Quarter of Jerusalem staged a demon- stration recently, claiming archeologists had desec- rated ancient Jewish graves near Safed. demonstrators The claimed that a burial cave of an ancient talmudic scholar had been broken during construction of a military installation and that the Department of Antiquities had removed bones from the cave. The department de- nied that any bones had been taken. especially valuable as a definition of the great events affecting Israel and as a portrayal of the man who supervised the drama that led to peace with Egypt. — P.S. Israeli Children Yearn for Peace (Editor's note: These poems are from "My Shalom, My Peace," published by American Israel Publishing Co. and Sonol of Israel Limited. The poems were sub- mitted to a contest in 1974 for poems on peace Israeli children, Jewish and Arab, and were lated by Dov Vardi.) Father crld Son By AMIT TAL, age 11, Haifa He has always suffered and wept without end, He wanted just this once To live (wain with his Dad Through those pleasant childhood days When they would walk together hand in hand, When a warm hand used to take him to school And he not wanting to part. Then* came the war and the hand was cut off Forever and ever. The Arab boy also feels suffering. He wanted just this once, again he wanted — To pass with his father through some village. The chickens clacking, the cattle lowing And the two of them happy and singing a lively tune .. . But the war silenced the song A love song of a father and his son .. . 0 why the immenst hate? Why shouldn't there be Peace? The Paint Box By TALI SHUREK, age 11, Beershba I had a paint box — Each color growing with delight; I had a paint box with colors Warm and cool and bright. I had no reds for wounds and blood, I had no black for an orphaned child, I had no white for the face of the dead, I had no yellow for burning sands. I had orange for joy and life, I had green for buds and blooms. I had blue for clear bright skies, I had pink for dreams and rest. I sat down And painted * * * Peace. When Will It Come, the Day? By MAHMUD ABU RADG, age 12 Kfar Sachnin, an Arab village When will peace take over? When will it come, the day? When with armies and bombs will they do away. When will all this hostility cease, A day on which battleships Will become palaces of leisure and fun Floating on seas. A day on which the steel of guns Will be melted into pleasure cars; A day on which the generals will begin to raise flowers. When peace Will include all the peoples of these neighboring lands, When Ismael and Israel Will go hand in hand, And when every Jew — The Arab's brother will be. When will it come, the day? * * * At Last By ANAT HATZOR, age 7, Givat Brenner Now all fighting has ceased; He who made man, has brought Peace. People are glad and babies are happy, Little boys and girls, hands are clapping. - There's such a pleasant air, No more fighting anywhere. Old folks and children are playing together, No one is running down to the shelter. It's calm and quiet, everyone satisfied, Peace at last in this great world and wide.